New York Receives Federal Approval To Extend Medicaid Benefits to Uninsured Women with Breast or Cervical Cancer
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Oct. 2 approved a waiver that will allow New York to extend Medicaid coverage to uninsured women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program administered by the CDC (HHS release, 10/1). Under the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, enacted in October 2000, states can apply for waivers to expand their Medicaid programs to include uninsured women younger than age 65 diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/15). Women who qualify will receive Medicaid coverage throughout their cancer treatment. The federal government will cover 85% of the cost of the treatment (HHS release, 10/1). New York tests about 60,000 women for breast and cervical cancer each year under the CDC program, and state officials estimate about 500 women will qualify for the new Medicaid waiver, Long Island Newsday reports. New York also raised the Medicaid reimbursement rate for breast cancer tests to $90 from $51 to prompt more doctors to provide the tests, John Signor, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, said. "This expansion offers help, hope and health care to women in New York who otherwise would receive only a diagnosis that may sound like a death sentence," Thompson added. Hillary Rutter, director of the Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program, praised the Medicaid expansion but said the waiver "falls short because it doesn't help undocumented immigrants," Newsday reports (Barfield Berry, Long Island Newsday, 10/3). New York is the 45th state to receive a waiver under the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act (HHS release, 10/1).
HHS Extends Partnership Plan
In related news, Thompson yesterday approved a three-year extension for New York's Partnership Plan, the state's Medicaid section 1115 demonstration program, a move that will allow the state to continue to provide care for about one million low-income residents. Under the extension, New York will add two amendments to the partnership plan, which HHS first approved in 1997. The first amendment will continue a grant program to hospitals. Under the program, hospitals will receive $350 million in federal funds over three years to cover the cost of worker retraining and "activities related to transitioning from a fee-for-service to managed care environment." The second amendment will extend to men eligibility for the state's Medicaid family planning program. In the past, only low-income women who qualified for Medicaid during their pregnancies could receive continued family planning services for up to 24 months. Under the amendment, both men and women -- with no pregnancy requirement -- with annual incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level, or $17,720 for an individual, will qualify for the services. "This approval means continued health coverage for nearly one million of New York's resident -- including many uninsured parents whose children are already covered," Thompson said (HHS release, 10/2).
