By: Jane Perkins and Sarah Somers
Executive Summary
The National Health Law Program in comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urges it to reject several proposed changes to Medicaid Managed Care and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that would weaken oversight of managed care setups, undermine current standards ensuring access to care for people with disabilities and those with Limited English Proficiency, and turn back progress on network adequacy. “Rather than moving states toward a national network adequacy standard, the proposed rule gives states even more discretion to adopt different standards …. If adopted, the proposed changes to this section will lead to more divergent standards, which will mean that Medicaid beneficiaries are more likely to go without care they need, and oversight by HHS will become even more challenging.”
