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CMS Releases Guidance and Tools for the end of the PHE

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a series of additional guidance and tools that outline how states may address the large volume of pending eligibility and enrollment actions they will need to take once the Public Health Emergency (PHE) eventually ends. These materials are intended to assist states in their planning efforts and do not signal when the federal PHE declaration will end.
 
The materials released today include:
  • A State Health Official (SHO) letter, which expands on guidance issued in August 2021 by describing how states may distribute eligibility and enrollment work in the post-PHE period, mitigate churn for eligible beneficiaries, and smoothly transition individuals between coverage programs, including coverage through a Marketplace plan.
  • An Eligibility and Enrollment Planning Tool, which will aid states' planning to maintain Medicaid coverage for eligible individuals and ensure a smooth transition to post-PHE operations
  • A Communications Toolkit, which includes key messages, social media, outreach products, email templates, text message templates, call center scripts and other resources to aid in beneficiary outreach
  • An updated slide deck on the role Medicaid managed care organizations can play in supporting states in their efforts to reach people with Medicaid during the PHE unwinding period.
The SHO can be found here: https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/sho22001.pdf
 
The Planning Tool can be found here: https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/downloads/medicaid-chip-covid19-health-emergency-eligibility-enrollment-pending-actions-resolution-planning-tool.docx
 
The Communications toolkit can be found here: https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/downloads/unwinding-comms-toolkit.pdf
 
The Managed Care slide deck can be found here: https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/downloads/health-plan-strategy.pdf
 
To access these and other resources, visit CMS' Medicaid Unwinding webpage at:
https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/unwinding-and-returning-regular-operations-after-covid-19/index.html

Staff Contact: dwatford@mehca.org

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