Waivers
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Trump Administration’s New Medicaid Waiver Policy Will Increase Number of Uninsured: Kentucky Likely to be First Approved
I was in Kentucky last week where I spoke to an audience of health care providers and advocates about the success of the state’s Medicaid expansion and the giant step backwards its pending waiver proposal would be. I was relieved that the state’s pending waiver proposal wasn’t approved while I was there as my trip…
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Maine Voters Voice Strong Support for Medicaid Expansion
Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently criticized the Medicaid program’s expansion under the Affordable Care Act in sharp terms: “We’ve put more than 10 million people, 12 million people into this program where the doctors won’t see them, and the policies that are in the Medicaid program are…
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Work Requirements in Medicaid Would Add More Red-Tape and Barriers to Health Coverage
Having failed to cut Medicaid through legislation, the Trump Administration is moving forward with administrative actions that would permit states to impose roadblocks to enrollment. We anticipate that the administration may soon grant waivers that would for the first time allow work requirements in Medicaid, modeled off of similar federal provisions in Temporary Assistance for…
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Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver Comments
Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families contributes an independent perspective to the public dialogue on the future of Medicaid through the lens of children and their families.
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Governor LePage’s Medicaid Proposal Would Harm Low-Income Mainers
Governor Paul LePage’s proposal for harsh changes in the state’s Medicaid program, known as MaineCare, would restrict access to health care for many low-income Mainers. Maine is one of 19 states that haven’t adopted the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) Medicaid expansion, leaving most poor adults without a coverage option. The governor’s proposal would make it…
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Medicaid’s “Welcome Mat” Effect Means Medicaid Expansion Helps Children Get Health Coverage
New research in the journal Health Affairs this month gives even more evidence for a parental “welcome mat” effect that increases health coverage among children already eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program when their parents become eligible as well. Simply put, moving to “whole family coverage” through a state Medicaid expansion or…
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A Medicaid Beneficiary in Indiana Speaks Out Against Work Requirements
We have been reading the comments that were publicly submitted to CMS on Indiana’s request to add a work requirement to its Medicaid waiver, known as Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) 2.0. This one jumped out at me: “I live in Indiana and rely on HIP 2.0 for my health insurance. I suffer from Bi-polar Disorder…
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CMS Does Not Appear to Be Honoring Public Comment Requirement on Indiana Medicaid Waiver Request
My top-notch intern is checking the CMS website every day, and it looks like Friday June 9th, after regular business hours, federal CMS did two things with respect to Indiana’s desire to impose a work requirement on certain Medicaid beneficiaries and make other changes to their Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) 2.0 program. First, CMS certified the application…
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How Many Will Be Impacted By Work Requirements: Indiana Gives Us The First Clue
As has been widely reported, there are a number of states seeking Section 1115 waivers to establish work requirements for their Medicaid expansion populations – and the Trump Administration has indicated that they are likely to say yes. In just the last week Arkansas and Indiana opened public comment periods at the state level for…
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Wisconsin Waiver Would Create Unprecedented Barriers to Medicaid Access
Wisconsin officials are seeking unprecedented changes in the state’s Medicaid coverage for adults without dependent children. The draft proposals (summarized here) would significantly increase the number of uninsured Wisconsinites, make the state less healthy, and impede efforts to increase the Wisconsin workforce. From a national perspective, the section 1115 waiver that Wisconsin is seeking would…
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Arizona Medicaid Waiver Amendment Does Not Include Analysis of Impact on Budget and Individuals
Arizona will shortly be submitting an amendment to its existing Section 1115 waiver that includes some very major and unprecedented changes to its Medicaid expansion such as the imposition of a work requirement (which has to be verified on a monthly basis!), and a five-year life- time limit on Medicaid benefits. The state also seeks…
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Medicaid Fulfills Crucial Role for Children with Special Health Care Needs Like My Daughter
My daughter Caroline is alive because of Medicaid. The medications, the equipment and the nursing care that have helped us manage her severe disability would not be possible without the federal program’s support. Now, with Congress and the White House considering cuts and restructuring for Medicaid, it’s important to consider children like Caroline. We welcomed…
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What Does President Trump’s Executive Order Mean for the Affordable Care Act?
As you may have heard, President Trump issued an executive order about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on his inauguration day, but what’s been less clear is what exactly it means. Can the President repeal the ACA by executive order? The short answer is no. The ACA became law when it was passed by Congress…
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Weighing in on the Kentucky Medicaid Waiver Request
Last week, we submitted comments in partnership with twelve other national organizations on Kentucky’s proposed section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver, which would make significant changes to Kentucky’s currently successful Medicaid expansion program. Our comments on the proposed waiver, known as Kentucky HEALTH, centered on concerns in areas of the demonstration project that would add red-tape…
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Utah Medicaid Waiver Comments Submitted
Today, we and our colleagues at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, along with six other national organizations, submitted comments on the Utah Primary Care Network Section 1115 waiver request to extend the Primary Care Network and expand coverage to two very limited new groups of beneficiaries – parents from current mandatory levels up…
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Kentucky Submits Proposed Medicaid Waiver
A couple months ago, Kentucky released the first version of its proposed Medicaid waiver for public comment and we pointed out several major problems with the proposal. Basically, the proposal contained elements like very high premiums and very high copayments, lockout periods where people would be denied health coverage and work (or involuntary “volunteer”) requirements:…
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New Florida Legal Services Report Examines Financial Challenges to Health Care System
By Miriam Harmatz, Florida Legal Services My colleague, Charlotte Cassel, and I spend a lot of time explaining changes to Florida’s major supplemental payment program, the Low Income Pool (LIP) and how those changes impact individual counties. FLS Reports. Before we started this endeavor, I pulled out notes from training by iconic poverty and health…
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CMS Turns Down Indiana Request to Lock People Out of Health Coverage Who Don’t Complete Renewal Process
While we at CCF were wrapping up our annual conference on Friday, CMS sent a letter to Governor Pence’s office turning down a request by the state to amend their Medicaid Section 1115 HIP 2.0 waiver in two ways that would have been harmful to beneficiaries. The first issue is especially of interest as we…
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Tax Policy, Budget Cuts Pose Health Risk to Kansas Children
By Amanda Gress, Kansas Action for Children Kansas policymakers’ refusal to revisit deep income tax cuts has once again harmed the health of Kansas children. In May, Governor Brownback announced a 4% reduction in reimbursement rates for KanCare, the state’s managed-care Medicaid program. These choices will ultimately make it more difficult for Kansas children covered…
