The new rules address “new standards to help states improve their monitoring of access to care by requiring the establishment of new standards for appointment wait times, use of secret shopper surveys, use of enrollee experience surveys, and requiring states to submit a managed care plan analysis of payments made by plans to providers for specific services, to monitor plans’ network adequacy more closely.”

On Jan 25, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson, joined by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL), co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, launched a year-long Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative.

On January 18, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new model to test approaches for addressing behavioral and physical health in a bi-directional way: The Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model which will be piloted in 8 states.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on January 17, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to increasing health data exchange and strengthening access to care, (CMS) finalized the Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F).  The rule sets requirements for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) fee-for-service (FFS) programs, Medicaid managed care plans among other CMS regulated plans.