Steve Boucher, Director of Managed Care Services for the South Carolina Alliance of Health Plans presented both in-person and virtual overviews of the Medicaid Annual Review process to hundreds of health insurance professionals. These presentations leveraged Steve’s extensive knowledge of the Medicaid Annual Review process as well as his understanding of the health insurance industry and identified him as a key leadership resource in the Medicaid sector.  The presentations provided the health insurance professionals with trusted information that will enable strategic decisions within their organizations.

Dive Brief:

• Half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are now enrolling in private Medicare Advantage coverage, according to recently released data from the CMS.
• Of the 59.82 million people who qualify for a Medicare Part A and Medicare B private plan, 30.19 million, or over half of those who qualify, enrolled in January 2023, according to a Monday report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
• Plan A and Plan B enrollment increased by two percentage points from 48% in 2022, according to the nonprofit’s analysis. That means MA now has more enrollees than original Medicaid, a report from Barrons noted.

Read Article!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WPSA) -The South Carolina House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill that would repeal the state’s Certificate of Need program.

The Senate had passed the bill earlier this year with a 30-6 vote.

‘Certificate of Need’ regulations were put into place by the federal government in the 1970s. According to DHEC, the purpose of CON laws is to promote cost containment and prevent unnecessary duplication of healthcare facilities and services.

Right now, if a healthcare provider in South Carolina wants to add beds, build a new facility or purchase expensive medical equipment, they need to go state health officials for approval.

Competitors can appeal these requests, slowing down the process.

House members made a change to the bill on the floor before passing it. The bill would repeal nearly all parts of ‘Certificate of Need’ regulations almost immediately.

Health providers looking to build a new hospital must go through the ‘Certificate of Need’ process up until January 2027. After that date, the regulations would be repealed.

The bill received a third reading from the House Wednesday and was sent back to the Senate. There are now four days left in this year’s legislative session.

Long-term care facilities would still need to go through the Certificate of Need process.

View Article

COLUMBIA — Parents of children 5 and younger in South Carolina can fill out a new online application to simultaneously check their eligibility for taxpayer-funded child care assistance, preschool and other government programs.

The May 1 launch of the common application on first5sc.org was celebrated by state agency leaders and early childhood advocates as providing families an easier, quicker way to access services that enable parents to work and children to succeed.

Instead of filling out separate, often lengthy forms — sometimes needing to do so in person during business hours — parents can securely submit information once that will automatically fill out applications across state government.

Gov. Henry McMaster Announces Michael Wise as Next Director of the S.C. Department of Insurance

Health Coverage Premiums - View Document.pdf

https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/preference-for-future-telehealth-use-does-not-exceed-that-of-in-person-care

https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/medicare-advantage-final-rule-addresses-prior-authorization-health-equity

https://www.2minutemedicine.com/medicare-advantage-associated-with-reduced-hospital-readmissions-and-mortality-rankings/

https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/medicare-advantage-has-lower-healthcare-use-higher-clinical-quality