CMS Administrator Don Berwick, MD, said he is working with states on ways to cushion them from Medicaid funding requirements while still protecting Medicaid recipients, according to a report by the Hill.
States are considering deep cuts in Medicaid spending following the end of enhanced federal matching grants for state Medicaid programs in June. However, states that fail to maintain minimum coverage levels, set before the healthcare reform law, risk losing the federal match.
"Everyone in the room knows there's no simple answer," Dr. Berwick told a conference of Families USA. "What we can commit to is a process." He said CMS is drafting a variety strategies to help states avoid massive Medicaid cuts. "We will use all the leverage we have in the law to reach out to them with dollars and tech support," he said. "We're here to protect beneficiaries and states."
Read the Hill report on Medicaid.
Read more coverage of Medicaid cuts:
-Supreme Court to Hear States' Call to Cut Medicaid Spending
-Governors Want Reform Law Changed So They Can Reduce Medicaid Coverage
-More Than Half of States Expanded Medicaid Programs in 2010
States are considering deep cuts in Medicaid spending following the end of enhanced federal matching grants for state Medicaid programs in June. However, states that fail to maintain minimum coverage levels, set before the healthcare reform law, risk losing the federal match.
"Everyone in the room knows there's no simple answer," Dr. Berwick told a conference of Families USA. "What we can commit to is a process." He said CMS is drafting a variety strategies to help states avoid massive Medicaid cuts. "We will use all the leverage we have in the law to reach out to them with dollars and tech support," he said. "We're here to protect beneficiaries and states."
Read the Hill report on Medicaid.
Read more coverage of Medicaid cuts:
-Supreme Court to Hear States' Call to Cut Medicaid Spending
-Governors Want Reform Law Changed So They Can Reduce Medicaid Coverage
-More Than Half of States Expanded Medicaid Programs in 2010