Friday was a good day for Florida’s kids. The federal
government indicated that the state would not be allowed to proceed with a
proposal, passed by the legislature last spring, to charge all Medicaid
beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans $10 a month regardless of income
or age. It is important to note that much of the state’s waiver request to move
most of the Medicaid program into managed care remains under discussion with
the federal government and is largely unaffected by its decision on this
particular issue. In fact, the premium proposal received little attention when
debated by the legislature last spring.
As we found in our recent study, this proposal was
likely to result in approximately 807,000 fewer children and parents enrolling
in Florida’s Medicaid program. Most of these children and parents would have
become uninsured and lost access to health coverage they need. Children were
expected to bear the brunt of the losses, largely because there are far more
children than adults enrolled in Florida’s Medicaid program. More than 80
percent of those dropping coverage – about 663,000 – would have been children,
and the vast majority would have had incomes below the poverty line. Imposing
premiums of this magnitude on families with very low incomes would have had
dramatic consequences.
In turning down this aspect of Florida’s request, the
federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) cited a number of
statutory provisions including the cost-sharing provisions of the Medicaid law
and the Affordable Care Act’s maintenance-of-effort provisions. Cost-sharing protections in Medicaid are essential to ensure that very
low-income persons are able to access needed services as research is clear that
copays create barriers to needed care. CMS also turned down the state’s request
to charge a $100 copay for non-emergency use of the ER on Friday. This area will remain under discussion
as CMS works with the state to find other ways to achieve this worthwhile
objective.
This decision was probably not a surprise to state
officials or other seasoned waiver watchers. In fact, the heart of the state’s
proposal to move most of the program into managed care – both on the acute care
and the long term care side – is still under active consideration by CMS. Many complex issues need to be
addressed and many questions remain.
But on the premium issue the Obama Administration made a sound decision
that both comports with federal law and, more importantly, protects the health
of Florida’s children and families.