HHS Announces New Initiatives to Increase Medicaid Flexibility and Innovation - April 19, 2011

On April 14, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a series of initiatives to improve state Medicaid flexibility and to encourage more coordinated care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

• First, HHS announced that it will provide up to $1 million each to 15 states to help the states coordinate care for dual eligible beneficiaries. The grants are intended to provide a broad range of services to such individuals, and states will be given wide discretion to design the programs and work with providers to implement care coordination initiatives. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin will receive funding.
• Second, HHS issued a proposed rule to increase state flexibility with waivers designed to transition seniors and individuals with disabilities from institutional to community settings. The proposed rule would reduce current administrative barriers to states seeking to support various populations, including seniors and individuals with different types of disabilities, and allow individuals to participate in their care planning process.
• Third, HHS issued a final rule providing states a 90 match for the cost of developing and upgrading Medicaid and CHIP eligibility systems and a 75 percent match for ongoing operational costs for such systems.
• Finally, HHS announced approval of a Section 1115 waiver for the state of New Jersey. The waiver permits the state to obtain federal financial participation to provide coverage to low income adults who were previously covered under a state-only program, Work First New Jersey, and to expand the program from 57,000 to nearly 70,000 participants by December 2013.