Tag: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services

W.Va. Ranks Among Best At Connecting Residents With Substance Use Treatment

In 2023, West Virginia ranked fourth highest in the United States for initiating and treating substance use disorder in residents with the condition. The data was collected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In 2023, West Virginia was one of the most effective states at connecting residents with substance or alcohol use disorders to treatment, according to federal health officials.

At 52.1 percent, West Virginia had the fourth highest percentage of individuals with substance or alcohol dependencies who began and received treatment last year out of 45 participating states and U.S. territories.

This data was compiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees federal healthcare systems. Each year, the agency aggregates data on a variety of state-level health resources and outcomes.

Treatments for substance use disorders include medication, counseling, rehabilitation services and behavioral health resources, according to a Wednesday press release from the West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS).

“Our commitment to providing diverse and effective treatment options is reflected in the improved outcomes we have achieved,” said Cindy Beane, commissioner of the DoHS Bureau for Medical Services, in the press release.

“West Virginia’s commitment to providing evidence-based practices is being recognized nationally and modeled in other states,” she said.

The DoHS credits the state’s strong CMS score to an increase in substance use disorder treatments offered to West Virginia Medicaid members.

This followed the 2017 implementation of substance use disorder waivers for Medicaid users with substance dependencies, which allowed them to access free treatments.

“Overcoming a substance use disorder is not as simple as resisting the temptation to take drugs,” said Christina Mullins, DoHS deputy secretary of mental health and substance use disorders, said in the press release.

“Like many other chronic conditions, effective treatment options are available for SUD,” she said. “While no single treatment method is right for everyone, recovery is possible, and help is available.”

As of November 2023, 34 states and the District of Columbia offered similar waivers for residents with substance use disorders.

At a press briefing Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice thanked DoHS staff for supporting substance use disorder treatments across the state. He also emphasized his ongoing investment in programs addressing substance use disorders in West Virginia.

“We’re making a dent. We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “There are a lot of folks that are taking advantage and getting some real help, and getting their lives turned and going in the right direction.”

“We’re making a difference,” Justice continued.

School Retirees Oppose Potential Medicare Advantage Cuts

Members of the West Virginia Association of Retired School Employees are concerned about potential cuts to Medicare Advantage at the federal level.

Members of the West Virginia Association of Retired School Employees are concerned about potential cuts to Medicare Advantage at the federal level.

The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may cut Medicare Advantage payments by an average of 2.27 percent in 2024, according to a study done by healthcare consulting firm Avalere Health of an advance notice released by the CMS last month. 

The agency itself, as well as federal officials like Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, pushed back against the claims and are projecting a 1 percent increase in payments instead. 

Medicare Advantage, also known as the Part C plan, is offered by private companies to offer the same benefits as Medicare Parts A and B for lower monthly premiums, though that potentially also comes with higher out-of-pocket expenses.

Charmell Radcliff, president of the West Virginia Association of Retired School Employees, is concerned the potential cuts could result in fewer benefits and higher premiums for retirees. More than 192,000 people are enrolled in Medicare Advantage statewide.

“As a senior citizen on a fixed income, an estimated raise in premiums and a decrease in benefits would cost each one enrolled in the (Medicare Advantage) plan $45 a month, or $540 a year,” Radcliff said.

The association has reached out to those in the Biden administration urging them to protect the plan from cuts, including sending a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. 

A bipartisan group of 61 United States Senators have also expressed the same concerns in a letter to the CMS, including West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.

“With 53 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees living on less than $25,000 per year, combined with increasing pressures on Americans’ budgets, it is critical that older adults and individuals with disabilities continue to have stable access to these cost protections that are only available in Medicare Advantage,” their letter read.

The pushback comes at the same time unions, like the AFL-CIO, are opposing state Senate Bill 268, which would try to address the insolvency of the state’s Public Employees Insurance Agency by increasing health insurance premiums for those enrolled and removing spouses eligible for their own insurance from coverage. It passed the Senate Thursday and is currently in the House of Delegates.

Final rate payment changes for 2024 are scheduled to be announced by the CMS in April.

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