Senators seek briefing on Medicaid waiver requests

State Medicaid waivers drew the attention of Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who in a letter to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said they feared that waivers under consideration would "potentially make fundamental changes to the Medicaid program in ways that Congress did not anticipate or intend." Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Commitee, and Baucus, its ranking Democrat, asked the CMS to brief the committee about current waiver negotiations by July 10. Their letter, a response to recent media reports, said it appears that "CMS staff have considered and commented on draft waiver proposals that could, among other things, impose enrollment caps and permit the use of waiting lists on options and possibly mandatory populations." -- by Tony Fong