While CMS has been relatively quiet as of late from a public-facing perspective as it waits for new political leadership to arrive (including newly announced CMS Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure), a recent review by your...more
On December 4, 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments to decide the legality of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) authorization for states to incorporate work requirements into their Medicaid...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether the federal government can approve state programs that force Medicaid participants to work, go to school, or volunteer to get benefits. Both Arkansas and the Justice Department...more
CMS approved Georgia’s Section 1115 demonstration project to partially expand Medicaid coverage for adults not otherwise eligible for Medicaid coverage with incomes up to 95 percent of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL)—short of...more
Section 1115 of the Social Security Act permits states to waive certain Medicaid statutory requirements through demonstration projects that advance state policy priorities and test innovations in their Medicaid programs....more
UPDATED: It’s out! The much anticipated guidance, entitled the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” (HAO), from CMS introducing ways to revamp Medicaid financing has been out for nearly a week and we have had some time to review the...more
Efforts by the federal government and some states to require certain Medicaid beneficiaries to work in order to maintain eligibility for benefits has run into a series of obstacles, both in the courts and in state...more
Over the past month, there has been significant activity related to the future of requirements that condition Medicaid eligibility on work/community engagement (CE). In both the policy arena and in court, the Trump...more
On November 20, 2018, Virginia submitted an application to CMS for a Section 1115 demonstration program entitled Virginia COMPASS (Creating Opportunities for Medicaid Participants to Achieve Self-Sufficiency). The application...more
Welcome back. This week, Congress returns to Washington with 10 working days to prevent a partial government shutdown by December 7th. Reaching an agreement on funding is the highest priority of the Lame Duck, and it could...more
We have continually provided updates on the application and approvals of Medicaid 1115 waivers that include work requirements. One such approved waiver is the Arkansas Works Program. As we previously noted, Arkansas became...more
In January 2018, CMS issued new guidance allowing states to impose work requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility through the use of Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers. These waivers allow states to test...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) started the year with a bang, issuing guidance on January 11, 2018, in support of Medicaid demonstration projects that condition coverage on beneficiary participation in work...more
On April 19, 2017, Wisconsin released for public comment a proposed amendment to its BadgerCare Reform Section 1115 demonstration. BadgerCare Reform currently provides coverage to approximately 150,000 childless adults ages...more
While we continue to monitor Congressional efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, we are also monitoring CMS’s efforts to implement the administration’s Medicaid program goals without Congressional action. The future of the...more