December 20, 2017
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
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