CMS Approves Ark., Iowa Medicaid Expansion Provisions
The Obama administration has granted further leeway to two Republican-led states that have adopted alternative Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act. CMS in a letter authorized Arkansas for the first time to implement cost-sharing requirements for beneficiaries participating in the state's alternative Medicaid expansion who have annual incomes below the federal poverty level. CMS in a separate letter authorized Iowa to continue charging premiums for beneficiaries with incomes below 138% of federal poverty level and also to continue to not cover nonemergency transportation services for beneficiaries.
- "CMS Gives Arkansas, Iowa More Leeway in Medicaid Expansion Waivers" (Dickson, Modern Healthcare, 1/5).