The CMS has tentatively approved California's multibillion-dollar Medicaid waiver but will substantially curtail its subsidies for uncompensated care.
California officials announced an agreement on a $6.2 billion waiver that would sustain the state's efforts to reform its Medicaid program. The waiver would include $3.3 billion to help public safety net hospitals maintain and launch delivery-system reform initiatives, including infrastructure development, system redesign and improvements targeting clinical outcomes and population health.
Providers welcomed the Obama administration's support for those initiatives, but they're not happy about the limited inclusion of federal funding for uncompensated care. The CMS agreed to extend the safety net pool for only a year. The pool also would be reduced to $236 million in 2016 from $400 million a year under the previous waiver.
