NAPH Submits Comments on Dual Eligible Request for Information - July 12, 2011

NAPH on July 11 submitted comments to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office‘s request for information about opportunities for better alignment between Medicare and Medicaid for patients who are eligible for both federal programs. In the comment letter, NAPH stressed the need for the testing of new care-coordination options that provide better access for dual-eligible patients and other vulnerable populations. In particular, NAPH cited the NAPH-proposed Safety Net Accountable Care Organization Demonstration project as a promising model. NAPH also urged the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office to help promote enrollment in existing care models, particularly through better tools for identifying dual-eligible patients, mechanisms to facilitate enrollment, and improved financial support for all services needed for care coordination. Finally, NAPH encouraged the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office to continue its efforts to better align post-acute and hospital-transfer fee-for-service benefits. For more information, please contact Xiaoyi Huang at 202-585-0127 or xhuang@naph.org.