States are on the front lines of health reform. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) acknowledged this by authorizing several grant programs for states to promote its implementation in addition to the many programs that already existed. Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to states, territories, and other governmental entities to develop innovation programs, improve access to and quality of health care in rural areas, prevent and fight chronic diseases and promote effective rate review programs.

Innovation Grants

At the end of last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced awards of nearly $700 million in grants to states and territories. Pursuant to § 3021 of the ACA (42 U.S.C. § 1315a), these grants will fund state-level initiatives to design and test new and innovative models for health care payment and service delivery. Eleven states will receive portions of $622 million over the next four years to test innovation plans that are already fully designed. Another 17 states, three territories, and DC will receive a total of $42 million to design, refine, and submit their innovation plans to CMS over a period of 12 months. More information on these grants is available here.

These awards represent the second round of innovation grants to governmental entities under § 3021. More than two-thirds of states now have received innovation grants from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Through fiscal year 2019, CMMI will continue to award and administer grants up to its $10 billion appropriation.

Access to Health Care in Rural AreasContinue Reading Federal Funds, States, and Health Care Reform: Innovation and Opportunity in 2015