Waiver 1115 Information

Section 1115 Medicaid waivers allow states to explore new options for providing health coverage to persons who would otherwise not be eligible and allow states to examine innovative ways to deliver care by waiving certain requirements of the Medicaid Act.

While waivers can be important tools that can help states respond to the needs of low-income individuals, they also present concerns for health advocates working to protect the rights of Medicaid enrollees and promote transparency in state waiver processes.

Sec. 1115 of the Social Security Act allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive some requirements of the Medicaid Act so that states can test novel approaches to improving medical assistance for low-income people.

Under the current administration, several states are seeking waivers to impose harmful cuts and restrictions. The first set of harmful waivers have been approved for Kentucky and Arkansas, with a number of states seeking to enact similar changes to Medicaid. Learn more about Medicaid waivers and how the National Health Law Program is combating the Trump administration’s illegal use of waivers to weaken Medicaid.

View 1115 Waiver Resources By State

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… results in Waivers and Demonstrations and New Mexico.
  • February 9, 2023

    NHeLP Comments on New Mexico 1115 Renewal Request

    In comments to HHS, NHeLP focuses on select provisions related to long-term services and supports (LTSS) in New Mexico's renewal request. The comments focus on the State's plans to use Medicaid funds to pay for room and board in assisted living facilities and to alter existing nursing facilities. The comments address the lack of an experiment, the Secretary's authority, and the State's community integration obligations to people with disabilities.

  • April 27, 2021

    NHeLP Comments on New Mexico Centennial Care 2.0 SMI Amendment

    In this application, New Mexico seeks to waive the Institutes for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion, implement High Fidelity Wraparound Services for an initially limited group of children and youth, institute a Graduate Medical Education Program, and establish vaccine coverage for limited beneficiary categories. For a variety of reasons, NHeLP suggests that the Secretary not approve this amendment request. In particular, NHeLP notes that the state has failed to provide evidence that many of these programs are genuine experiments. Further, HHS does not have the authroity to waive the IMD exclusion because the exclusion is found outside of 42 U.S.C. § 1396a. Additionally, waiving the IMD exclusion would undercut community-based mental health services. Finally, NHeLP notes that intensive care coordination services like High Fidelity Wraparound should be provided as a medically necessary service to all children and youth under the age of 21 through the state's Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) mandate.

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