Health transformation funding continues in Washington despite halt on national level

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December 20, 2017

Health transformation funding continues in Washington despite halt on national level

A decision from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to discontinue a funding stream related to Section 1115 waivers will not affect Washington State’s Medicaid Transformation Demonstration.

Late last week, CMS released a letter to all state Medicaid directors announcing that it will no longer approve or renew state requests to receive federal funding for so-called designated state health programs (DSHPs). DSHPs are health-related programs that had been funded entirely by the state, with no federal funds.

Under DSHPs, CMS has approved federal matching funds as a way for states to receive federal money to finance their delivery system reform efforts. DSHPs are one of two federal funding mechanisms that Washington State uses to support its Medicaid transformation efforts through the Demonstration.

According to CMS, “authority for DSHP in current demonstrations will continue until the end of the state’s current demonstration period but will not be extended or renewed.”

Washington’s contract with the federal government runs through December 31, 2021.

Learn more about Medicaid transformation in Washington