CMS Approves More Medicaid Section 1135 Waivers, Bringing Total to 34 States

Following the first approved Medicaid section 1135 waiver for Florida, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved 33 more waiver requests in the last 2 weeks.¹

The newest approvals are for New York, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. They join 23 other states with approvals: Iowa, Indiana, Rhode Island, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama, California, New Hampshire, New Mexico,New Jersey, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Illinois, Washington, and Florida.¹

"These waivers give a broad range of states the regulatory relief and support they need to more quickly and effectively care for their most vulnerable citizens," said CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MS, in a statement.²

The waivers were approved within days of the states' submissions.¹

The waivers are intended to provide the states with relief during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic by providing states the flexibility to focus resources on managing the outbreak. Some waivers available under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act include temporary suspension of prior authorization requirements; extension of existing authorizations; modified timeline requirements for state fair hearings and appeals; and relaxed provider enrollment requirements to allow states to quickly enroll out-of-state or other new providers.²

The waivers are effective March 1, 2020, until the end of the declared public health emergency, including any extensions.²

REFERENCES

• Trump Administration Approves 34^th State Request for Medicaid Emergency Waivers [news release]. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; March 23, 2020. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-approves-34th-state-request-medicaid-emergency-waivers. Accessed March 27, 2020.
• CMS Approves Medicaid Section 1135 Waivers for 11 Additional States in Response to COVID-19 [news release]. Centers for Medicare and Mediccaid Services; March 23, 2020. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-approves-medicaid-section-1135-waivers-11-additional-states-response-covid-19. Accessed March 27, 2020.