Medicaid and CHIP News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, October 11, 2018)

Explanation of Provisions from Last Year’s CHIP Extension
On October 5, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to State Health Officials explaining some key provisions of the HEALTHY KIDS and ACCESS Acts that are related to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other children’s coverage and quality provisions, including changes to third-party liability rules.

CMS to Strengthen Oversight of Medicare’s Accreditation Organizations
CMS Newsroom, Oct 04, 2018 (This will affect accreditation of many hospitals and other health care facilities that serve the public, not just Medicare beneficiaries.)

Medicaid Waivers
Remarks by Administrator Seema Verma at the 2018 Medicaid Managed Care Summit (delivered 9/27/18). In this speech, the CMS administrator discusses the administration’s promotion of state flexibility, including the encouragement of community engagement/work requirements; plus state accountability and program integrity.

An Early Look at Implementation of Medicaid Work Requirements in Arkansas
(Kaiser Family Foundation, 10/8/18).

Status of State Waiver Proposals:
Tennessee
Tennessee has posted an amendment to the TennCare II demonstration which would impose a work/community engagement requirement on parents and caretakers, unless they are exempt. The state is accepting comments through October 26.

Alabama
The deadline to submit federal comments on Alabama’s work requirement proposal is Sunday, October 21.

Missouri
Missouri has submitted an amendment to the Gateway to Better Health demonstration which would authorize the provision of a limited substance use disorder benefit and would update the standard terms and conditions to clarify that the state is not required to adhere to the rebate requirements of Section 1927 of the Social Security Act. Federal comments are due on October 30.