Today, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) asking for an update on the implementation of the Advancing Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act. The ACE Kids Act, which Grassley and Bennet ushered through Congress in 2019, allows children with medically complex conditions to choose to enroll in a health home – if a state Medicaid program permits – in an effort to improve care coordination and health outcomes.
Specifically, this law helps CMS and state Medicaid programs align rules and reimbursements to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and provide better care coordination for children with complex medical needs. CMS is required to fully implement the law by October 1, 2022.
“Our most vulnerable kids and their families deserve a health care system that coordinates care and produces healthier outcomes. Kids with complex medical conditions face myriad challenges including an uncoordinated and burdensome health care system. On average, these kids see five to six specialists and up to as many as 20 to 30 allied health professionals. Parents are often overwhelmed at the scope of that care. Helping these families navigate the bureaucracy and cut red tape makes sense. This is why we passed the ACE Kids Act in 2019 that allows kids with medically complex conditions to choose to enroll in a health home, if a state Medicaid program permits,” the senators wrote.
“We appreciate your attention to implementing the ACE Kids Act and the promise it will provide for kids and families across the country. With the hard work of CMS and state Medicaid programs across the country, we expect the ACE Kids Act will be ready for implementation by October 1, 2022,” the senators concluded.
In 2021, Grassley and Bennet also introduced the bipartisan Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act to provide states the ability to streamline the screening and enrollment process for out-of-state pediatric care providers. This allows those providers to enroll in another state’s Medicaid program while also maintaining important safeguards.
Grassley has been a longtime leader in improving the lives of children with disabilities and their families by advocating for more choices and flexibility. Beginning in the 1980s, he worked on Katie Beckett waivers that expanded treatment at home for children with disabilities while still allowing them to be covered by Medicaid.
In the early 2000s, Grassley worked with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to pass the bipartisan Family Opportunity Act. The law encourages parents to work and get ahead without sacrificing health coverage for their children with special needs. It also allows parents to buy Medicaid coverage without impoverishing their families, and it established Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2F) that provide first-hand knowledge for families with children who have complex medical conditions. Grassley worked with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to reauthorize the F2F Program in 2019. As Finance Committee chairman, Grassley helped reauthorize the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program in Medicaid, which helps states provide transition services to people moving from nursing facilities to home or community-based settings. Grassley has also conducted extensive oversight of CMS to ensure seniors and people with disabilities on Medicaid are receiving improved access to high-quality services.
Iowa families of children and young adults with special health care needs and disabilities can obtain support and information through Iowa’s F2F, called ASK Resource Center, located in Johnston, Iowa at askresource.org or by calling 1-800-450-8667.
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