Seema Verma Talks Medicaid: A Transparency Rule, Block Grant Guidance, Work Requirement Critics, And More
CMS Administrator Seema Verma delivered a fiery speech to the nation’s 56 state and territorial Medicaid directors in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, covering a range of issues. She also defended her decision to hire allies as outside contractors to help her develop a communications strategy.
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Wants To Crack Down On Supplemental Medicaid Payments
The CMS on Tuesday proposed a new rule that would increase transparency for Medicaid state supplemental payments and financing arrangements to help hold states more accountable for Medicaid spending. The Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule would help the CMS cut down back on unauthorized Medicaid spending to ensure the sustainability of the Medicaid program, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said Tuesday at a National Association of Medicaid Directors conference. (Brady, 11/12)
Medpage Today:
CMS To Crack Down On 'Shady' Medicaid Payment Schemes
To ensure that the program remains sustainable for future beneficiaries, the federal government must make certain that program dollars are actually spent on patient care, said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma during a plenary speech at the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) Fall Conference. Importantly, the agency currently doesn't have access to "timely and adequate" state Medicaid payment data to allow proper oversight of the program, a CMS fact sheet noted. (Firth, 11/12)
Kaiser Health News:
Verma Attacks Critics Of Medicaid Work Requirement, Pushes For Tighter Eligibility
Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, Tuesday sharply attacked critics of her plan to force some Medicaid enrollees to work, a policy that led to thousands of people losing coverage in Arkansas. “We cannot allow those who prefer the status quo to weaponize the legal system against state innovation,” the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a fiery speech to the nation’s 56 state and territorial Medicaid directors in Washington, D.C. (Galewitz, 11/12)
Politico Pro:
Verma: Medicaid Block Grant Guidance Coming Soon
The Trump administration will soon release guidance allowing states to block grant or otherwise cap Medicaid spending, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said this morning in her most detailed comments yet on a forthcoming plan to overhaul the entitlement. The administration will outline a demonstration program that will "provide significant and unprecedented flexibilities for program operation" and "inject vigorous accountability for outcomes," Verma said during the National Association of Medicaid Directors' conference in Washington. (Pradhan, 11/12)
The Hill:
Top Health Official Defends Federal Contract Payments To Trump Allies
A top administration health official on Tuesday defended her office’s spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars on outside GOP communications consultants with close ties to President Trump. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma said the use of contractors was appropriate, because the agency did not have the necessary communications staff in place to enact her “vision” for the department. (Weixel, 11/12)
In other Medicaid news —
Kaiser Health News:
Medicaid Tweak Might Offer Means To Improve U.S. Maternal Health
When Madavia Johnson gave birth to Donald Ray Dowless III last year, she was hit by a case of severe postpartum anxiety. She was scared to carry her son downstairs or drive him in a car. She couldn’t manage to continue law school ― and could hardly leave the house ― because she didn’t trust anyone to watch him. Her weight dropped from 140 to 115 pounds. “It was very stressful for me mentally,” said Johnson, now 29, who lives in Clayton, N.C. And she found it hard to secure medical assistance because her Medicaid coverage ran out just two months after her son’s birth. Public health advocates are pushing to change that. (Bluth, 11/13)
