FL – Medicaid Waiver Receives CMS Approval

August 2017 ~

CMS has approved a five-year extension of Florida’s Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) Section 1115 demonstration. Under the waiver, Florida will be permitted to operate a capitated Medicaid managed care program and a low-income pool (LIP). CMS will allow Florida to choose its own waiver benchmarks to evaluate waiver progress and reporting activities.

The state submitted a request to extend Florida’s MMA program through a CMS section 1115 demonstration waiver. The request met the federal agency’s guidelines to plan effective healthcare procedures that improve health outcomes for vulnerable Floridians.

“This program gives Florida the ability to care for it’s most vulnerable and at-risk citizens. Its renewal also provides flexibility to use the funds in a way that meets the unique needs of the State while reducing burden by eliminating duplicative reporting and documentation requirements,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

“This extension has a positive and direct impact on people’s lives and their ability to access care. Florida’s program offers an innovative and realistic pathway to tackling some of Medicaid’s biggest challenges.”

The extension gives the state’s MMA program two new resources to meet healthcare goals related to the care of low-income, uninsured individuals. The first involves necessary financial support to public teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals, and other hospitals for the care they furnish to low-income uninsured Floridians. The second will provide resources aimed towards improved care access and increase quality provider participation in the state’s MMA program, including care provided by many Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and Rural Health Centers (RHC).

The agreement marks a first for the state in having received CMS approval for the flexibility demonstration of a new approach to state reporting activities. CMS will monitor progress toward state-selected benchmarks and work with the state to design a meaningful evaluation. The agency intends for these changes to decrease inappropriate or burdensome state reporting activities.

 

Source(s): CMS; Modern Healthcare; HMA Roundup; CMS Press Release; HealthPayerIntelligence;

 

 

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