The past year’s many shifts in federal health and human service policies have brought a host of “trickle down” effects to the field. Some of these changes affect reimbursement of specific services—like the plan to discontinue Medicaid reimbursement for health-related social needs (see CMS Rescinds Medicaid’s Health-Related Social Needs Guidance) and new criteria for services for the homeless and housing support grants (see A Look At The New Executive Order And The Intersection Of Homelessness And Mental Illness).

Several of the changes affect state budgets directly. State-directed Medicaid payments will be lowered to a Medicare-equivalent ceiling rate (see CMS Issues Guidance On Limits For State-Directed Payments In Medicaid).States will be prohibited from…