Tag Archives: waivers

A recent news article suggests that Trump Administration officials are considering allowing states to receive their Medicaid funding through a block grant.  The article did not specify how CMS would accomplish such a goal without a statutory change.  Details are supposedly being developed, but until we see those details, it’s hard to know exactly what the agency is considering.

My colleagues and I at the Medicaid and the Law Blog thought it might be helpful to provide some background on the concept of block grants in Medicaid,… More

Good morning from snowy Baltimore! Myself, along with my colleagues Tom Barker, Sean Ahern, and Erik Schulwolf are excited to be here here at AHLA’s Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issuers. Over the next few days we plan on blogging about our insight, key sessions, and other fun tidbits and developments as we take in all of the great information at this annual gathering of the health bar.… More

On November 17th, Arizona’s state Medicaid agency (the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS) sent a letter to CMS proposing policies that it believes will build on past successes and “leverage[] conservative principles.”

In the letter, AHCCS seeks input from CMS on ideas to “modernize” the prescription drug benefits offered under the state’s Medicaid plan.

(Also, notably, though not the topic of this blog post,… More

Note: for a fairly up-to-date analysis of where states stand on the Medicaid expansion, check out this nice break down by the Advisory Board.

As we previously discussed, the agreement between Indiana and CMS last week to expand Medicaid in that state has big implications for the Medicaid program.  First, Indiana’s agreement with CMS has seemed to trigger a handful of other Red States that now appear ready to rethink agreements with CMS.  … More