Rhode Island House Approves Oversight Bill for ‘Global Medicaid Waiver’
The Rhode Island House on Tuesday approved legislation that would require the governor to obtain approval from the General Assembly for nearly every change to the Medicaid program through 2013, the Providence Journal reports. The legislation is intended to provide oversight of changes the state will implement under the "global Medicaid waiver" that Gov. Don Carcieri (R) negotiated with CMS last year (Peoples, Providence Journal, 2/4).
Under the agreement, the state will limit Medicaid spending to $12.4 billion through 2013. In exchange for capping spending, the state will receive broad authority to change services, such as nursing home care, subsidized transportation for the elderly and beneficiaries with disabilities, health insurance for low-income children and parents, and prescription drug coverage for seniors. State Department of Human Services Associate Director Murray Blitzer said that if the state runs out of its allotted funds before the five-year mark, it will lose matching federal funds, which would force the state to pay the program's full cost or cut services (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/22).
The bill approved on Tuesday also would create a task force to oversee implementation of the waiver. Rhode Island DHS Director Gary Alexander expressed support for the bill and, even though the CMS agreement took effect Jan. 16, he promised not to make any major changes to the Medicaid program until oversight is in place. The bill needs approval from the state Senate before it can become law. The Senate expects to begin debate on its own version of the bill soon.
According to the Journal, it remains unclear how plans to restructure the state's Medicaid program coincide with the millions of dollars in additional Medicaid funding expected from the federal economic stimulus package. It also is unclear how the Assembly will fulfill its oversight role when it is not in session (Providence Journal, 2/4).
