Health Announce: Dec. 2, 2024

12/02/24

Happy Monday!

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday.  First created in 2012 as a hashtag to spur donations to charity in the United States, Giving Tuesday has grown to an internationally-recognized day for fundraising for nonprofit, charity, and aid organizations around the world. In the US alone, nonprofits collectively raised over $3 billion dollars in both 2022 and 2023. In addition to raising money to fund the organizations that transform lives and communities, Giving Tuesday celebrates generosity in all its forms.

Topics for this week’s Health Announce:

  1. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation webinar tomorrow on the Massachusetts Health Equity Initiative Inventory.

  2. Upcoming Dignity Alliance study sessions: (A) Options Counselors and (B) the Massachusetts Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

  3. Medicare Rule Changes to Support Justice-Involved Individuals.

  4. Congratulations to Robin Lipson, Secretary of Elder Affairs! 

  5. One week until our next Health Care Workgroup (HCWG) meeting!

  6. Know Your Rights resources available from Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

Be well,

Jennifer Hotchkiss Kaplan

Senior Health Law Attorney

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute 

Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts Webinar Tomorrow on the Massachusetts Health Equity Initiative Inventory.

On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts hosts a webinar to provide an overview of the Massachusetts Health Equity Initiative Inventory. In addition to discussing how organizations can learn from using the Inventory, the webinar will provide a live demonstration of how to use the interactive tool. Register here.

Upcoming Dignity Alliance study sessions: (A) Options Counselors and (B) the Massachusetts Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

On Friday, December 6, 2024, at 9:00 am, Dignity Alliance is hosting a webinar covering Options Counselors. This study session will discuss the critical role Options Counselors occupy in assisting individuals of all ages navigate services, programs, and benefits – including Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) – to help them make choices to live independently and with dignity in their homes and communities. Tri-Valley, Center for Living and Working, and Elder Services of Worcester will be leading the conversation.  Register here.

The following week, on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, from 11 am to 12:00 pm, Dignity Alliance will host a study session featuring Carolyn Fenn, the Massachusetts Long Term Care Ombudsman. This study session will discuss the role of the ombudsman program in helping resolve issues between residents and nursing facilities, rest homes, or assisted living facilities. Register for this study session here. 

Medicare Rule Changes to Support Justice-Involved Individuals.

CMS recently finalized key updates under the CY 2025 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rule that will expand healthcare access for individuals transitioning from incarceration.

Starting January 1, 2025, CMS has clarified that individuals released from physical confinement—including those on parole, probation, home detention, or residing in halfway houses—are no longer considered in "custody," making them eligible to use Medicare coverage. Additionally, CMS is simplifying the process for reentry by linking eligibility for the Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to the Social Security Administration’s determination that an individual is no longer incarcerated, extending eligibility to those residing in halfway houses.

These changes mark a significant step in improving health equity for justice-involved individuals.

For more details, read the CMS fact sheet here.

You can also read Justice in Aging’s comments on the proposed custody and SEP rule changes and the sign on letter submitted to CMS, signed by 117 organizations.

Congratulations to Robin Lipson, Secretary of Elder Affairs!

After several months of her serving as Acting Secretary, the Healey Administration formally appointed Robin Lipson as Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) on November 20, 2024. Secretary Lipson started at EOEA in 2015 as Chief of Staff; before that, she held a variety of leadership roles in the public and non-profit sectors, including Deputy Director of the Massachusetts Medicaid Program and Vice President of Strategic Planning for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. 

Please join us in congratulating Secretary Lipson on her appointment! 

One week until our next Health Care Workgroup (HCWG) meeting!

On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 3pm, the HCWG meets to discuss strategies for defending against potential budget cuts, at both the state and federal level. If you have any additional topics or issues you’d like to put on the agenda, please let me (jkaplan@mlri.org) or Kate (ksymmonds@mlri.org) know. 

Know Your Rights resources available from Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA).

A Know Your Rights training for community organizations working with immigrant clients, hosted by MIRA and planned for this week, filled almost immediately (over 500 registrants!). MIRA is looking into providing another training. Once a date has been determined, Health Announce will share the registration link. Know Your Rights materials, as well as other resources, can be found on MIRA’s website here.