Chapter 1:
Texas Medicaid in
Perspective
What is Medicaid? What is Medicaid managed care? How is Texas
Medicaid changing?
What Is Medicaid?
Medicaid is a jointly funded state-federal health care program, established in Texas
in 1967 and administered by the Health and Human Services Commission
(HHSC). In order to participate in Medicaid, federal law requires states to cover
certain population groups (mandatory eligibility groups) and gives them the
flexibility to cover other population groups (optional eligibility groups). States set
individual eligibility criteria within federal minimum standards. States can apply to
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for a waiver of federal law to
expand health coverage beyond these groups. Medicaid is an entitlement program,
which means the federal government does not, and a state cannot, limit the
number of eligible people who can enroll, and Medicaid must pay for any services
covered under the program. In December 2011, about one in seven Texans (3.7
million of the 25.9 million) relied on Medicaid for health insurance or long-term
services and supports.
Medicaid pays for acute health care (physician, inpatient, outpatient, pharmacy,
lab, and x-ray services), and long-term services and supports (home and
community-based services, nursing facility services, and services provided in
Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with an Intellectual Disability or Related
Conditions (ICFs/IID)) for people age 65 and older and those with disabilities. In
state fiscal year (SFY) 2011, total expenditures (i.e. state and federal) for Medicaid
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were estimated to represent 26 percent (about $24.8 billion) of all expenditures. i
The federal share of the jointly financed program is determined annually based on
the average state per capita income compared to the U.S. average. This is known
as the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). Each state’s FMAP is
different; in Texas, the federal government funded 66.46 percent of the cost of the
Texas Medicaid program in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2011, while the state funded
the other 33.54 percent. (See Chapter 5 for the Texas FMAPs for FFYs 19982014.)
This FMAP represents a more favorable federal match than Texas has seen in
previous years due to a temporarily higher match resulting from American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding. (See Chapter 2 for more
information about ARRA.) Due to the size of the Texas Medicaid program, even
small changes in the FMAP can result in federal funding fluctuations worth millions
of dollars.
Medicaid serves primarily low-income families, children, related caretakers of
dependent children, pregnant women, people age 65 and older, and adults and
children with disabilities. Initially, the program was only available to people
receiving cash assistance Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or
Supplemental Security Income (SSI). During the late 1980s and early 1990s,
Congress expanded the Medicaid program to include a broader range of people,
including older adults, people with disabilities and pregnant women. While
individuals receiving TANF and SSI cash assistance continue to be automatically
eligible for Medicaid, these and other federal changes de-linked Medicaid eligibility
from receipt of cash assistance.
In SFY 2011, women and children accounted for the largest percentage of the
Medicaid population. Based on the total number of unduplicated clients receiving
Medicaid in SFY 2011, 55 percent of the Medicaid population was female and 77
percent was under age 21. While non-disabled children make up the majority (66
percent) of all Medicaid clients, they account for a relatively small portion (33
percent) of Texas Medicaid program spending on direct health-care services. ii By
contrast, people who are elderly, blind, or have a disability represent 25 percent of
clients but account for 58 percent of estimated expenditures. Figure 1.1 shows the
i
This percentage does not include disproportionate share hospital (DSH) and upper payment limit
(UPL) funds. Source: Texas Medicaid History Report May 15, 2012 and Fiscal Size-Up(s)
Appendix E Medicaid Expenditure History (FFYs 1987-2011).
ii
“Medicaid clients” refers to clients who receive any Medicaid benefits and includes clients who
receive only Medicare premium assistance or emergency medical services.
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percentage of the Medicaid population by category and the estimated portion of the
Medicaid budget spent on each category in SFY 2011 for direct health services.
Figure 1.1: Texas Medicaid Beneficiaries and Expenditures
SFY 2011
Source: HHS Financial Services, HHS System Forecasting. 2011 Medicaid Expenditures, including
Acute Care, Vendor Drug, and Long-Term Services and Supports. Costs and caseload for all
Medicaid payments for all beneficiaries (Emergency Services for Non-Citizens, Medicare payments)
are included. Children include all Poverty-Level Children, including TANF. Disability-Related
Children are not in the Children group.
The Texas Medicaid program covers a limited number of optional groups, which
are eligibility categories that states are allowed, but not required, to cover under
their Medicaid programs. For example, Texas chooses to extend Medicaid
eligibility to pregnant women and infants up to 185 percent of the federal poverty
level (FPL). The federal requirement for pregnant women and infants is 133
percent of the FPL. Another optional group Texas covers is known as the
“medically needy” group. This group consists of children and pregnant women
whose income exceeds Medicaid eligibility limits, but who do not have the
resources required to meet their medical expenses. A “spend down” amount is
calculated for each of these individuals by subtracting their income from the
medically needy income limit for their household size. If their medical expenses
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exceed the spend down amount, they become Medicaid eligible. Medicaid then
pays for those unpaid medical expenses and any Medicaid services provided after
they are determined to be medically needy. (See Chapter 2, Figure 2.2, “Texas
Medicaid Income Eligibility Levels for Selected Programs June 2012.”)
Medicaid Managed Care
Texas Medicaid provides health care services to most clients through a managed
care model that engages multiple health plans as described below.
As of February 2012, the number of Medicaid managed care members
represented almost 2.9 million of the state's 3.7 million Medicaid clients. iii (See
Appendix D for Medicaid and CHIP Service Areas.)
State of Texas Access Reform (STAR)
Medicaid’s State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) program is the managed care
program in which HHSC contracts with managed care organizations (MCOs) to
provide, arrange for, and coordinate preventative, primary, and acute care covered
services, including pharmacy. STAR administers services to different eligible
populations in different locations.
In the metropolitan service areas STAR provides services for pregnant women and
children with limited income and TANF clients. On March 1, 2012, STAR managed
care expanded to serve Texas Medicaid clients in 164 rural counties. The
Medicaid Rural Service Area (Medicaid RSA) STAR program serves clients who
were previously covered by the Primary Care Case Management (PCCM) program
if they had Medicaid only. STAR in the Medicaid RSA provides services to
pregnant women and children with limited income, TANF clients, and adults
receiving SSI.
STAR Health
HHSC worked with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
(DFPS) to develop a medical care delivery system for children in foster care, who
are a high-risk population with greater medical and behavioral health care needs
than most children in Medicaid, and whose changing circumstances make
continuity of care an ongoing challenge. Called STAR Health, the program began
iii
This total includes STAR, PCCM, STAR Health and STAR+PLUS members. It does not include
NorthSTAR Medicaid members who are not enrolled in STAR.
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in April 2008, serving children as soon as they enter state conservatorship and
continuing to serve them in two transition categories:
•
•
Young adults up to 22 years of age with voluntary foster care placement
agreements, and
Young adults younger than 21 years of age who were previously in foster care
and are receiving transitional Medicaid services.
HHSC administers the program under contract with a single MCO. STAR Health
clients receive medical, dental, and behavioral health benefits, including unlimited
prescriptions through a medical home. The program also includes a 7-days-perweek, 24-hours-per-day nurse hotline for caregivers and DFPS caseworkers. Use
of psychotropic medications is carefully monitored, and in 2010 trauma-informed
care was initiated, based on best practices for positive outcomes, effectively
managing behavior issues that can destabilize children’s health status and foster
family placement.
STAR+PLUS
STAR+PLUS is the agency’s program for integrating the delivery of acute and
long-term services and supports through a managed care system. People who are
eligible include SSI/SSI-related clients with a disability or who are age 65 and older
and have a disability. STAR+PLUS operates in the Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, Harris,
Hidalgo, Jefferson, Lubbock, Nueces, Tarrant and Travis Service areas. Acute,
pharmacy, and long-term services and supports are coordinated and provided
through a provider network contracted with MCOs.
NorthSTAR
NorthSTAR is an integrated behavioral health delivery system in the Dallas service
area, serving people who are eligible for Medicaid or who meet other eligibility
criteria. It is an initiative of the Texas Department of State Health Services
(DSHS). Services are provided via a fully capitated contract with a licensed
behavioral health organization. STAR clients in a seven-county area around
Dallas receive behavioral health services through NorthSTAR.
Dental Managed Care
Effective March 1, 2012, children’s Medicaid dental services are provided through
a managed care model to children under age 21, those eligible for Medicaid Texas
Health Steps Comprehensive Care services, including SSI recipients. Clients who
receive their dental services through a Medicaid managed care dental plan are
required to select a dental plan and a main dentist. A main dentist serves as the
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client’s dental home and is responsible for providing routine care, maintaining the
continuity of patient care, and initiating referrals for specialty care.
Through the following efforts and policies, HHSC facilitates the provision of dental
services focused on quality outcomes for children in the Medicaid programs:
•
•
•
•
Quality, comprehensive dental services through qualified and accessible Texas
dental providers,
Improvement of oral health through preventive care and health education
initiatives and activities,
Intervention strategies to avoid disparities in the delivery of dental services to
diverse populations, and providing dental services in a culturally competent
manner, and
A choice of dental plans.
Who are the Uninsured?
An estimated 6.2 million Texans, or 24.6 percent of the state population, had no
health insurance in 2010. 1 Texas has the highest rate in the nation for people
without insurance.2 In 2010, approximately 1.2 million or 16.3 percent (down from
16.5 percent in 2009) of Texas children under age 18 had no insurance.3 The
national average was 9.8 percent.4
Most of the uninsured in Texas are adults under age 65. Most adults over age 65
have Medicare. Figure 1.2 depicts the uninsured population in Texas by age
group.
Data indicate that about two-thirds of uninsured, non-retired Texans age 18 and
older have a job.5 Uninsured adults may work in jobs that do not offer employersponsored coverage, or they may not be able to afford the coverage that is offered.
Unless they are caretakers of children eligible for TANF, are pregnant, or have
disabilities that qualify them for SSI, most of these adults are ineligible for
Medicaid.
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Figure 1.2: Total Uninsured Population
in Texas by Age Group 2010
Ages 65 +
1.6%
Ages 45 - 64
22.7%
Ages 6 and
Younger
7.1%
Ages 7 - 17
11.6%
Ages 18 - 24
16.1%
Ages 35 - 44
17.2%
Ages 25 - 34
23.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. March 2011 Current Population Survey (CPS) for Texas.
Private Insurance
The limits of private insurance also affect Medicaid. In 2010, 65 percent of the nonelderly population had private health insurance coverage, most often in the form of
employer-based coverage.6 That same year, private insurance paid for 34 percent
of total national personal health care expenditures.7 Figure 1.3 and Figure 1.4
show national health care spending and sources of coverage.
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Figure 1.3: U.S. Personal Health Care Expenditures
by Source of Funding, 2010
Other
Public
8%
Out of
Pocket
14%
Private
Insurance
34%
Medicaid
17%
Medicare
23%
Other
Private
4%
Source: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary, National Health
Statistics Group.
Figure 1.4: U.S. Personal Health Care Expenditures
by Category, 2010
Other
17%
Prescription
Drugs
12%
Home Health
3%
Hospital Care
37%
Physician and
Clinical
Services
24%
Nursing Home
7%
Source: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary, National Health
Statistics Group.
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In Texas, the proportion of the population covered by employer-based health
insurance is lower than the national average. Fifty-nine percent of Americans
under age 65 were covered by employer-sponsored health coverage in 2010,
compared with 51 percent of Texans.8 In 2010, 22 percent of working adults age
18 to 64 in the United States were uninsured, compared with 30 percent in Texas.9
Certain working uninsured individuals with low incomes may turn to Medicaid to
meet their health care needs or those of their dependants when employersponsored coverage is not available or affordable.
Private insurance tends to cover healthy individuals. Many of the sickest and most
expensive patients do not have health insurance and must rely on government
programs or out-of-pocket spending to pay their bills. Although the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) prohibits insurers
from excluding individuals because of health problems or disabilities, in most
cases, insurers may exclude treatment of pre-existing conditions for up to 12
months. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 prohibits
health plans from denying or limiting coverage for pre-existing conditions for
children under age 19 starting September 23, 2010 and for adults starting January
1, 2014.
Medicaid vs. Private Insurance
Comparing the costs and benefits of Medicaid with those of private insurance is
difficult. The Medicaid population includes people who are age 65 and older and
those who have disabilities or chronic illnesses. These individuals typically do not
have comprehensive health insurance. Moreover, the Texas Medicaid program
pays for long-term services and supports, such as nursing facility and personal
attendant care, which are not typically covered by private health insurance. Texas
Medicaid also pays for comprehensive services to children that exceed those
offered by most private insurance plans.
Given the unique concentration of medically high-risk people enrolled in Texas
Medicaid, no commercial insurance pool would resemble its client population.
Nevertheless, Table 1.1 provides a high-level comparison of benefits offered under
Texas Medicaid with those a typical private employer-sponsored health insurance
package might offer.
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Table 1.1: Comparison of Medicaid Benefits and a Typical Private
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Benefit Package10
Medical
(Inpatient
Hospital,
Acute Care)
Dental
LongTerm
Services
and
Supports
Medicaid:
Children
Yes
Yes
Yes
Adults
Yes
No
Yes
(Usually
requires a
co-pay)
Yes
(Separate
optional
coverage
with
additional
contribution)
Typical
Employee
Benefit
Package
(individual
adult or
child)
Lifetime
Maximum
Benefit
Deductible
Yes
(unlimited)
None
None
Yes
Yes*
None
None
No
Yes
(Usually
requires a
co-pay)
no limit**
$675 $1,908
(varies by
plan type
and
region)
Prescription
Drugs
* Some exceptions apply. For example, nursing facility residents, home and community-based waiver
clients, and STAR and STAR+PLUS adult enrollees receive unlimited prescription benefits.
** Based on H.R. 3590, Sec. 2711(a)(1)(A) and H.R. 4872, Sec. 122 (a)(3), insurance companies are
now prohibited from imposing lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits for all health plan years beginning
on or after September 23, 2010.
Premium Assistance Under Medicaid
Programs
The Health Insurance Premium Payment (HIPP) program, implemented in Texas in
1994, is a Medicaid program that reimburses eligible individuals for their share of
an employer-sponsored health insurance premium payment. In 2011, an average
of 9,096 Medicaid clients were enrolled in the Texas HIPP program.
To qualify for HIPP, an employee must either be Medicaid eligible or have a family
member that is Medicaid eligible. A client who is in Medicaid managed care can be
considered for enrollment in HIPP; however, if they qualify for HIPP enrollment
they cannot stay enrolled in Medicaid managed care. There are some categories
of clients that require mandatory Medicaid managed care enrollment and those
clients are not eligible to be enrolled in HIPP. The reimbursement may pay for
clients and their family members to get employer-sponsored health insurance
benefits when it is determined that the cost of insurance premiums is less than the
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cost of projected Medicaid expenditures. For example, a Medicaid eligible child
and the child’s parent could be enrolled in the parent’s employer-sponsored health
insurance (ESI) plan reimbursed through HIPP, if the cost of enrolling both
individuals is less than the cost of the Medicaid expenditures.
Medicaid eligible HIPP enrollees do not have to pay out-of-pocket deductibles, copayments, or co-insurance for health care services that Medicaid covers when
seeing a provider that accepts Medicaid. Instead, Medicaid reimburses providers
for these expenses. HIPP enrollees who are not Medicaid eligible must pay
deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance required under the employer's group
health insurance policy. Additionally, if a Medicaid eligible HIPP enrollee needs a
Medicaid covered service that is not covered by their ESI plan, Medicaid will
provide this wrap-around service at no cost to the enrollee as long as the services
are provided by an enrolled Medicaid provider.
In certain circumstances, employers may receive a one-time tax refund of up to
$2,000 per employee for employees that participate in HIPP. The Texas Workforce
Commission administers the tax refund program, while the HHSC Office of
Inspector General (OIG) oversees the administration of the Texas Medicaid HIPP
program.
Currently, it takes three to five days to process reimbursement checks for eligible
individuals. In an effort to shorten the reimbursement timeframes even more, the
use of electronic funds transfer (EFT) began in August 2009 and in 2011 an
average of 72% of all premium reimbursements were made by EFT.
Federal Health Care Reform
PPACA was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA) was enacted on March 30, 2010. Together
they are called the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA includes:
•
•
•
Provisions intended to expand health insurance coverage, including an
individual insurance mandate; sliding-scale health insurance subsidies for
individuals and families up to 400 percent of the FPL; tax incentives for small
employers to offer health insurance to their employees; and an optional
expansion of Medicaid up to 133 percent of the FPL for individuals under age
65.
Health Benefit Exchanges to connect individuals and small employers with
affordable health care coverage.
Funding to help build the health care infrastructure and workforce.
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•
Measures to improve quality, reduce fraud and abuse, and reform payment
methodologies.
Chapter 3 provides information on the federal health care reform requirements and
the impacts to Texas.
Texas Health Care Transformation and
Quality Improvement Program 1115
Waiver
The Texas Health Care Transformation and Quality Improvement Program 1115
Waiver, known as the 1115 Transformation Waiver, is a five-year demonstration
waiver running through September 2016 that allows the state to expand Medicaid
managed care, including pharmacy and dental services, while preserving federal
hospital funding historically received as upper payment limit (UPL) payments. UPL
payments were supplemental payments paid to hospitals and certain other
providers (totaling about $3 billion in FFY 2011 to offset the difference between
what Medicaid pays for a service and what Medicare would pay for the same
service.
The 1115 Transformation Waiver, which was approved in December 2011,
provides new means, through regional collaboration and coordination, for local
entities to access additional federal match funds. The 1115 Transformation Waiver
contains two funding pools, one based on costs and the other based on
performance outcomes. (See Chapter 4 for more information.)
Uncompensated Care (UC) payments are cost-based and will help offset the
costs of uncompensated care provided by hospitals and other providers.
Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) funding provides financial
incentives that encourage hospitals and other providers to focus on achieving
quality health outcomes. Participating providers develop and implement programs,
strategies, and investments to enhance:
•
•
•
•
Access to health care services,
Quality of health care and health systems,
Cost-effectiveness of services and health systems, and
Health of the patients and families served.
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Regional Healthcare Partnerships (RHPs), which are anchored by public
hospitals or other local governmental entities, collaborate with participating
providers to establish a RHP plan designed to achieve quality outcomes and learn
more about local needs through population-based reporting. Performing providers
in a RHP can access waiver DSRIP funding by performing improvement projects
leading to quality outcomes. Performance improvement projects and outcome
reporting in the RHP plan align with the following four categories:
•
•
•
•
Infrastructure development,
Program innovation and redesign,
Quality improvements, and
Population-focused improvements.
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Endnotes
1
U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Historical Tables, “Table HIB-4: Health
Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State--All Persons: 1999 to
2010,”
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/historical/HIB_tables.html (August
2012).
2
U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Historical Tables, “Table HIB-4: Health
Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State--All Persons: 1999 to
2010,” http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/historical/HIB_tables.html
(August 2012).
3
U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Historical Tables, “Table HIB-5: Health
Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State--Children Under 18:
1999 to 2010,”
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/historical/HIB_tables.html (August
2012).
4
U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Historical Tables, “Table HIB-5: Health
Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State--Children Under 18:
1999 to 2010,”
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/historical/HIB_tables.html (August
2012).
5
U.S. Census Bureau, “Current Population Survey,” March 2011. Data analysis
completed by the Strategic Decision Support Department of the Texas Health and
Human Services Commission.
6
U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage
by State--1999 to 2010, Historical Health Insurance Data:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/historical/HIB_tables.html
(August 2012).
7
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Historical National Health Expenditure
Data, “Table 1: National Health Expenditures Aggregate, Per Capita Amounts,
Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Change: Selected Calendar
Years 1960-2010,”
http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-andReports/NationalHealthExpendData/index.html
(August 2012).
8
U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage
by State--1999 to 2010, Historical Health Insurance Data:
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http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/historical/HIB_tables.html (October
2012).
9
U.S. Census Bureau, “Current Population Survey,” March 2011. Data analysis
done by Strategic Decision Support of the Texas Health and Human Services
Commission.
10
The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust,
“Employer Health Benefits 2011 Annual Survey,” 2011, pp. 91-100, 139-148, and
181-191.
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