Health Announce: June 2, 2025
Topics for this week’s Health Announce:
- New! Know Your Rights Guidance on ICE Enforcement from the Attorney General.
- CMS to increase oversight on states over allegations of Medicaid dollars used for care for undocumented immigrants.
- New Health Care Equity Dashboard for Massachusetts available.
- Dignity Alliance Massachusetts webinar – The New Legal Landscape: The Administration’s Campaign to Erase Disability Rights, Protections, and Protectors.
- Glitches reported with new Dental Third Party Administrator.
- CMS releases updated 2025 Supplemental Security Income and Spousal Impoverishment Standards.
- Language Access Program – Best Practices for Representing Clients with Limited English Proficiency – this Wednesday!
Welcome to June and Happy Pride Month!
In this dark national moment when our loved ones and communities are under threats from multiple directions, celebration becomes all the more important – and healing, fulfilling, and rebellious. Be sure to turn out to celebrate Pride and/or be a loud and visible ally. Hope will never be silent. ~ Harvey Milk, civil and human rights leader.
Be well,
Health Law Unit
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
1. New! Know Your Rights Guidance on ICE Enforcement from the Attorney General.
Last week, the Attorney General’s Office released a new guidance titled “KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: ICE Enforcement, A Guide for Immigrants, Families, and Communities.” Created in response to questions from the community and the increase in enforcement actions across the state, the guidance covers, among other topics:
- the extent and the limits of ICE to arrest individuals;
- what rights people detained by ICE have; and
- what rights bystanders have.
2. CMS to increase oversight on states over allegations of Medicaid dollars used for care for undocumented immigrants.
On May 27, 2025, CMS published a letter announcing its intention to ramp up financial oversight activities of states’ Medicaid expenditures to ensure that federal funds are not used to provide healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants in a manner that violates federal law. All states received this letter and are encouraged to review their policies, internal controls, and IT systems. The letter is available here.
3. New Health Care Equity Dashboard for Massachusetts available.
The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) has published a dashboard on health care equity in Massachusetts. The dashboard provides access to key measures of health care disparities related to race, ethnicity, and geography across 6 domains of data that CHIA collects:
- Coverage – health insurance enrollment and coverage
- Access – availability of and access to health care services
- Utilization – use of health care services
- Affordability – cost of health care services for residents
- Finance – spending on health care services by payers and providers
- Quality – performance and patient experiences
4. Dignity Alliance Massachusetts webinar – The New Legal Landscape: The Administration’s Campaign to Erase Disability Rights, Protections, and Protectors.
This Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 11 am, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts (DAM) hosts a webinar on the Trump Administration’s coordinated attack on disability rights. Steven Schwartz, Special Counsel at the Center for Public Representation, will present on this critical moment and also discuss strategies to oppose the efforts to strip away the rights of individuals with disabilities. Register here.
5. Glitches reported with new Dental Third Party Administrator.
Providers and MassHealth members are experiencing delays of claims payments and service authorizations, as well as customer services issues with the new Dental Third Party Administrator (TPA). MassHealth released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to address the TPA transition from DentaQuest to BeneCare. Please let us know if you are seeing any problems that members are experiencing.
6. CMS releases updated 2025 Supplemental Security Income and Spousal Impoverishment Standards.
On May 28, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a CMCS Informational Bulletin with the updated 2025 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Spousal Impoverishment Standards. While some updates to the spousal impoverishment standards are adjusted and effective each January, two are adjusted in accordance with the federal poverty level and are effective July 1: a community spouse’s (1) minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) and (2) monthly housing allowance. These standards can also be found here.
7. Language Access Program – Best Practices for Representing Clients with Limited English Proficiency – this Wednesday!
MLRI is chairing a program at MCLE this Wednesday, June 4, 2025, from 3:30 pm – 5 pm, titled “Best Practices for Representing Clients with Limited English Proficiency.” Join faculty from the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts, Disability Law Center, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Massachusetts Advocates for Children for a primer on language access services and presentations on actionable insights for practitioners and clients facing language barriers. The program is available in person at the MCLE Conference Center, as well as via live webcast. Sign up here.