As the CMS’ much anticipated Medicaid block grant guidance released in January was making headlines, hospital industry stakeholders were quietly assembling their case for why they think the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation is such a bad idea.
The industry is gearing up for a fight, saying the regulation would harm beneficiaries and overly empower the CMS.
The proposed rule aims to boost the transparency of supplemental payments, and also gives the CMS sweeping new authority to regulate how states finance their Medicaid programs.
“We are deeply concerned that, if finalized, this rule would end up denying millions of Americans access to healthcare,” said Erin O’Malley, senior director of policy for America’s Essential Hospitals.
Under Medicaid fee-for-service, states receive matching funds from the federal government to pay for their state Medicaid programs. The Trump administration says that states are taking advantage of the matching-funds system to maximize the amount of money they receive from the federal government. Increased scrutiny of supplemental payments to providers would ensure the fiscal integrity of the Medicaid program, CMS officials argue.
To that end, the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation—MFAR—would markedly increase federal oversight of how states fund their Medicaid programs.