This week CMS continued its rapid response—average approval takes less than a week—to review and approve Social Security Act Section 1115(c) Appendix K and Section 1135 waivers to facilitate state Medicaid programs’ efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS approved waiver applications from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Section 1135 Waivers
CMS Approves Medi-Cal Section 1135 Waivers
By Gary Baldwin & Alice Hall-Partyka on
On March 23, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Section 1135 waiver requests submitted by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The waiver requests were submitted by DHCS on March 16 and March 19, 2020.
As discussed in a previous blog post, Section 1135 authorizes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to waive federal Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements in order to respond to a public health or national emergency. As of March 24, CMS had approved Section 1135 waivers related to the COVID-19 pandemic from 13 different states.
With the approval granted by CMS, DHCS is permitted to take the following actions in regards to its Medicaid program (Medi-Cal), effective retroactively to March 1 and to extend until the end of the public health emergency:…
CMS Approves 11 More Section 1135 Waivers
By A. Xavier Baker on
On March 23, 2020 CMS approved 11 more Section 1135 state Medicaid waiver requests for the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia. As with the prior waivers, CMS approved the requests in…
HHS, States use Section 1135 Emergency Waivers to Meet COVID-19 Challenges
By A. Xavier Baker on
On January 31, 2020, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared COVID-19 a public health emergency under Public Health Service Act Section 319. Subsequently, on March 13, 2020, President Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency under Sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act. Doing so empowered Sec.…