NAPH Meets with New CMS Medicaid Director Cindy Mann - August 25, 2009

On Tuesday, August 18, NAPH met with Cindy Mann, the new Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at CMS, as well as other senior Medicaid staff. NAPH staff discussed its health reform strategy and expressed serious concerns with the proposed DSH cuts and their impact on NAPH members. Ms. Mann expressed considerable interest in NAPH’s Coordinated Care Network (CCN) proposal. She relayed that CMS is undertaking a review of their Medicaid state plan amendment and waiver review policies and is seeking ways to improve the working relationships between CMS, states and providers. CMS staff said that CMS is in the midst of drafting regulations for the health information technology (HIT) incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and appreciated NAPH’s related feedback. NAPH is hopeful that this meeting will set the stage for an ongoing working relationship ahead.