The Health Care Authority (HCA) is accepting public comments on the procurement standards they will use in selecting Cascade Care health plans. This includes a draft methodology on how the state will calculate the 160 percent of Medicare rate cap on aggregate services. Comments will be accepted until January 17. If you do provide comments, WSHA would appreciate it if you could share your comments with us so we can include in our own comments.
The Legislature passed the Cascade Care legislation in 2019. As a reminder, WSHA advocated against a specific payment rate cap. The 160 percent of Medicare aggregate cap in the bill is significantly higher than the original proposal. Cascade Care health plans will be among the numerous qualified health plans consumers can chose from on the individual market (the Health Benefit Exchange) for plan year 2021. (Shirley Prasad, ShirleyP@wsha.org)
