MHA Today | September 22, 2021

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade

Beginning Friday, Oct. 1, MO HealthNet will require providers prescribing controlled substances for MO HealthNet participants to first check a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Documentation requirements are available at Section 13.22 of the MO HealthNet Pharmacy Manual. The St. Louis County Department of Public Health created a template and instructions for institutions needing to enroll large numbers of providers for access to its PDMP. MO HealthNet is making this change to comply with provisions of the SUPPORT Act passed by Congress in 2018.

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade

The Missouri Medicaid caseload grew by 8,700 in July to a record 1.1 million participants. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Missouri’s Medicaid caseload has grown by nearly 261,000, or nearly 31%. The number of children covered has increased by 160,500 during this time.

The record growth in the caseload is expected and will continue throughout calendar year 2021. To qualify for a 6.2% increase in federal matching funds under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, states may not end a participant’s Medicaid coverage unless the participant moves to another state, dies or requests that their coverage end while the COVID-19 public health emergency is in effect. The Biden administration has signaled its intention to continue the COVID-19 emergency declaration through the end of the calendar year, thus extending the conditions leading to the unprecedented growth in Medicaid coverage.

Caseload growth will accelerate after Friday, Oct. 1, as Medicaid expansion takes effect and newly eligible Missourians are enrolled in coverage

Staff Contact Josette Bax

The Readmissions, Hospital-Acquired Conditions, Risk Mortality and AHRQ Quality Indicators data have been refreshed within HIDI Analytic Advantage PLUS to include measure calculations based on discharge data from the second quarter of calendar year 2021. These quality data updates can be found in various reports in the following Analytic Advantage Plus locations.

• Quality > Benchmarking
• Quality > Readmissions
• Quality > Strategic Quality Initiatives

For technical questions regarding these measures, contact Josette Bax. For questions about accessing the website or running reports, contact HIDI.

Staff Contact: Shawn Billings

According to a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, overdose deaths involving methamphetamine nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019 among people ages 18 to 64 in the U.S. The number of people who reported using methamphetamine during this time did not increase as steeply, but the analysis found that populations with methamphetamine use disorder have become more diverse. Published today, the study suggests that increases in higher-risk patterns of methamphetamine use, such as increases in methamphetamine use disorder, frequent use and use of other drugs at the same time, may be contributing to the rise in overdose deaths.

Staff Contact: Sherry Buschjost

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services selected the hospitals for data validation of chart-abstracted measures within the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program for calendar year 2023 payment determination. The quarters included in the outpatient data validation efforts for CY 2023 are first quarter through fourth quarter 2021. Additional information is available.

Staff Contact: Sherry Buschjost

The Specifications Manual for Joint Commission National Quality Measures, Addendum Version 2021B1, effective with encounters Friday, Oct. 1, has been posted to the TJC website. Changes include updates to Appendix A, which are outlined in the associated release notes.