Virgil Dickson | October 16, 2017
The CMS has reversed course and approved Kansas’ Medicaid waiver that was denied by the Obama administration.
The CMS has signed off on a one-year extension of the state’s KanCare program, which allows the state to have most of its Medicaid population, including those needing long-term care services, in a managed-care plan. The program was on track to expire Dec. 31.
The Trump administration’s reprieve, granted Oct. 13, will also continue the state’s safety-net care pool, which has two funding streams: one for uncompensated care and one for delivery system reform incentive payments, under which the state creates new programs to better care for Medicaid enrollees. Collectively, the state has budgeted $80 million for the two pools.
The CMS denied the extension request during the Obama administration over concerns that managed-care organizations had inadequate state oversight. The federal agency also said the state hadn’t responded to public comments on the waiver, and there wasn’t sufficient information about provider networks.
The Obama administration believed uncompensated-care funds were unnecessary since states could expand Medicaid rather than relying on that revenue stream.
The impasse raised questions over the future of Kansas’ $3.2 billion Medicaid program. It was unclear if it would remain a managed-care program or revert to fee-for-service.
The CMS approved Kansas’ extension request on the condition that it abide by a corrective action plan to address the issues raised by the Obama administration.
Under that agreement, the state agreed to improve its data collection and conduct a comprehensive network adequacy review of its managed-care plans.
Source: Modern Healthcare