Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Medicaid
January 08, 2021 04:09 PM

CMS approves first Medicaid block grant

Michael Brady
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Getty Images

    CMS on Friday approved the country's first Medicaid block grant plan in Tennessee, following through on a top priority for CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

    Under the plan—dubbed "TennCare III"—Tennessee will accept a fixed budget target for its Medicaid program in exchange for more flexibility in spending its Medicaid money and an opportunity to earn shared savings. According to CMS, the agency will work with Tennessee to evaluate historical enrollment and Medicaid cost information to establish a fixed spending target for its Medicaid program.

    "The amount is not unlimited, but the plan does include a 'safety valve' to help increase funding due to unexpected increases in enrollment and ensure that the state is incentivized to control cost growth through efficient administration and reducing unnecessary costs rather than through reduced enrollment. The safety valve will maintain Tennessee's commitment to enroll all eligible Tennesseans with no reduction in today's benefits for beneficiaries," CMS said in a statement.

    The pilot starts immediately, and it's scheduled to last 10 years, ending on Dec. 31, 2030.

    When the latest iteration of the plan was announced, several experts were baffled Tennessee wanted to move forward with it because it doesn't give the state coverage flexibility, the option with the most potential to save money. Democrats and many healthcare experts worry the plan could threaten the state's Medicaid program if things don't go according to plan and Tennessee can't renegotiate terms with CMS.

    CMS offered all states a similar opportunity when it introduced its so-called Healthy Adult Opportunity a year ago. But Oklahoma was the only state to take the agency up on it, and its proposal never saw the light of day after the state's voters approved a straightforward Medicaid expansion in June.

    Tennessee's approval allows CMS Administrator Seema Verma to claim victory for Republican policymakers, many of whom have wanted to curb Medicaid spending. She's been on a mission to reshape Medicaid in her image since taking the helm of the agency, introducing a wide range of policy changes to lower federal spending on the program. That included allowing states to apply for Medicaid block grants or adopt work requirements and a failed attempt to unilaterally crackdown on providers' supplemental payments.

    But the victory could be short-lived because President-elect Joe Biden's HHS Secretary will have the power to reverse Tennessee's waiver approval.

    "We believe that CMS will do their best to tie this up in knots for the next secretary," Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, said in an email.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Pedestrians-0225
    Who could be impacted by Medicaid work requirements
    children-adults-doctors-office
    Where Medicaid covers the most children, adults by state
    Most Popular
    1
    UnitedHealth Group to cut Medicare drug plan commissions
    2
    PBM limits could finally pass, if Congress moves its tax-cut bill
    3
    ACOs call on Oz to fix Shared Savings Program benchmarking issue
    4
    Where top executive search firms are seeing changes in demand
    5
    Investors welcome a maturing digital health market
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Dose Newsletter: Sign up to receive a late afternoon weekday roundup of that day’s breaking news and developments in healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content