Waiver 1115 Information

In comments to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the National Health Law Program explains why Arizona's proposed Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver Amendment is flawed and legally suspect. Arizona's amended Medicaid waiver project includes an onerous work reporting requirement and lifetime limits on Medicaid. Work requirements are well-documented by extensive research that shows they do "little or nothing to increase stable, long-term employment and does not decrease poverty." Regarding Arizona's time-limit, the National Health Law Program notes, " Congress did not intend to limit Medicaid to temporary health care coverage. Instead, Congress designed Medicaid to furnish medical assistance to low-income individuals who cannot afford the costs of necessary medical care when and for long as they have a medical necessity for such assistance."

In an unprecedented move, HHS issued a letter announcing its intention to approve state requests to impose work requirements on Medicaid enrollees. NHeLP responded swiftly, submitting a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), explaining why the radical shift in Medicaid policy is procedurally and substantively flawed. Further, the few studies CMS cites to support work requirements do not backup CMS's conclusion that any and all work produces positive health outcomes.

In comments to the U.S. Department of of Health and Human Services (HHS), NHeLP urges it to reject Massachusetts' Section 1115 waiver project because the state proposes changes to Medicaid that would undermine the purpose of the law and harm low-income people who need Medicaid for health care. Massachusetts seeks to waive requirements to shift costs to the federal government and reduce benefits and access to care for critical services without a clear experimental purpose. Additionally, number of the state's proposals lack key details that make it impossible for the public to evaluate the state's proposed changes, while others fall outside the legal scope of 1115 authority.

In comments to the U.S. Department of of Health and Human Services (HHS), NHeLP urges it to reject New Hampshire's amended Section 1115 waiver project because the state proposes changes to Medicaid that would undermine the purpose of the law and harm low-income and underserved people who need Medicaid for health care. New Hampshire's amended waiver project includes a so-called "work requirement," that are an "illegal condition of eligibility ...," and have never been approved by HHS. "Conditioning Medicaid eligibility on completion of work activities gets it exactly backwards by blocking access to care and services that help individuals be able to work," NHeLP's HHS comments state.