CMS approved Florida's request to eliminate administrative burdens like prior authorization for Medicaid beneficiaries seeking essential health services, the agency said March 17.
The waiver allows Florida to not only waive prior authorization requirements, but improve provider enrollment processes, provide full reimbursement if evacuations cause care to be provided in unlicensed settings, suspend some nursing home screening requirements and extend deadlines for appeals.
Because President Donald Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency, states can now submit similar requests, called Section 1135 waivers, to CMS. CMS expects other states to follow Florida.
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