CMS Approves Additional State Medicaid Waivers and Amendments to Give States Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic

CMS continues to deliver urgent regulatory relief to ensure states can quickly and effectively care for their most vulnerable citizens during the COVID-19 crisis. For the first time, CMS has approved a COVID-related Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Disaster Amendment that brings relief for CHIP-covered children living in Maine. In addition, CMS approved COVID-related Medicaid Disaster Amendments that bring relief to North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to combat COVID-19 through a wide variety of state plan flexibilities. CMS also authorized amendments to ensure emergency flexibilities in programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities, including most recently in Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, New York, and North Dakota. These approved flexibilities support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.

All told, CMS has approved 49 emergency waivers, 26 state amendments, 7 COVID-19 related Medicaid Disaster Amendments and the first CHIP COVID-related Disaster Amendment in record time. States are using a toolkit CMS developed to expedite the application and approval of Medicaid state waivers and State Plan Amendments.

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