Health Announce: Aug. 12, 2025

08/12/25

Topics for this week’s Health Announce:

  1. Breaking News – Court grants preliminary injunction prohibiting DHS from using Medicaid data.
  2. MassHealth members’ Virtual Gateway My Account Page to sunset in April 2026.
  3. LTC Bill Ch. 197 Report on Transitions from Acute Care to Post-Acute Care released.
  4. CANS Changes Kick Off Meeting.
  5. KFF guidance for finding insurance at 26.

Be well,

Health Law Unit
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

1. Breaking News – Court grants preliminary injunction prohibiting DHS from using Medicaid data.

The US District Court for the Northern District of California granted in part plaintiff states’ motion for preliminary injunction. Massachusetts is one of the plaintiff states that is a party to this lawsuit. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preliminarily enjoined from using Medicaid data obtained from the plaintiff states for immigration enforcement purposes, and the Department of Health and Human Services is preliminarily enjoined from sharing Medicaid data obtained from the plaintiff states with DHS for immigration enforcement purposes.

2. MassHealth members’ Virtual Gateway My Account Page to sunset in April 2026.

Currently, MassHealth has two platforms for people to access member and applicant health assistance information: Virtual Gateway My Account Page (MAP) and MyServices. The older platform, MAP, is scheduled to be “sunset” – deactivated – for MassHealth members in April 2026. The Virtual Gateway MAP will still be active for providers and assisters. Between now and April 2026, MassHealth will be encouraging members and applicants to sign up for a MyServices account with MyMassGov.

The timeline for closing members’ access to MAP is:

  • August 2025 – targeted outreach to current members who have accessed their MAP account within the past year.
  • September 2025 – close new MAP account registration (no new accounts, but current accounts still active)
  • November 2025 – outreach in batches to all current MAP accounts about creating MyServices accounts and upcoming closure of MAP
  • January 2026 – MTF broad blast about transitioning to MyServices and sunsetting of MAP

3. LTC Bill Ch. 197 Report on Transitions from Acute Care to Post-Acute Care released.

Last year, the Governor signed into law An Act to improve Quality and Oversight of Long-term Care, G.L. ch. 197. One provision in the Act created a 17-member task force on Transitions from Acute Care to Post-Acute Care (TACPAC) to address the challenges and impacts of persistent delays in discharging people from acute care in hospitals to post-acute care settings, such as skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies and other community providers. The Massachusetts Transitions from Acute Care to Post-Acute Care (TACPAC) Task Force submitted its report and recommendations at the end of July.

The report identified bottlenecks that exist in the system, evaluated current and on-going efforts to address the issue, and proposed recommendations. Importantly, the report noted that the work and recommendations were developed before the Reconciliation Bill was signed into law: that federal legislation includes provisions that may significantly impact access and coverage to care across settings and could exacerbate the problem of people being stuck in acute care. The TACPAC task force presented recommendations for which the group could reach full agreement, with one exception. That exception revealed a split between providers and payors regarding the best approach. Some of the recommendations in the report include:

  • Expanding weekend intake and transport readiness at nursing facilities;
  • Expediting discharge for hospice and end-of-life care;
  • Develop minimum stay coverage in post-acute settings – by state regulation (providers’ recommendation) or allow private negotiation between plans and providers to reach agreement on a standard (payor recommendation);
  • Make the Hospital to Home Partnership Program permanent.

4. CANS Changes Kick Off Meeting.

The CANS assessment, or Child/Adolescent Needs and Strengths assessment, is used by behavioral health providers when they first start working with children and youth (20 years and younger) to get to know the children and families they work with. It helps with the development of a child’s treatment plan to address priority needs and work with their personal strengths. The CANS tool also allows providers and families to track a child’s progress and informs treatment plan changes.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EHS) selected a vendor to update the online version of CANS. Additionally, CANS will be moved to the new electronic case management platform, eCAS, beginning in early 2026. The kickoff meeting for providers who complete CANS assessments will be held on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 at noon. (Register here.) While this meeting is geared towards providers, anyone interested in Electronic Health Record Integration and the Virtual Gateway is encouraged to attend.

5. KFF guidance for finding insurance at 26.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded dependent coverage to millions of young people up to age 26 by allowing them to stay on their family’s plans. Since the passage of the ACA in 2010, the law’s infrastructure and protections have been undermined via legal challenges and new legislation, and now young adults turning 26 face an “insurance cliff” if they do not have a job that comes with medical insurance. KFF has a new resource to help: A Guide to Finding Insurance at 26.