Medicaid waiver plan for review

The Arkansas Department of Human Services on Monday released a draft of its application for a waiver from federal Medicaid rules that would allow it to expand the program to an estimated 250,000 people through subsidized private-insurance plans.

The Legislature in April approved the use of private-insurance plans as a way to expand Medicaid under the so-called private option and directed the Human Services Department to seek the waiver that would allow it.

The release of the application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services starts a 30-day public comment period on the proposed waiver.

The department will accept comments until midnight on July 24.

The application, along with any responses to the comments or revisions made as a result of them, will be submitted to the federal agency on Aug. 2.

State Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison, a supporter of the private option, said he looked at a draft of the application last week.

“Overall, I don’t think there were any surprises,” Burris said. “I think it articulates most if not all of what we talked about in the session.”

Human Services Department Director John Selig has said that the department has frequently consulted with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the proposed waiver and doesn’t expect any objections.

The expansion will extend eligibility for Medicaid to those with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level - $15,860 for an individual or $32,500 for a family of four.

To enroll, applicants will sign up for private health-insurance plans that will be offered through an exchange, or marketplace, being set up by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under a partnership with the state.

Medicaid will pay recipients’ premiums, and their co-payments and deductibleswill be reduced or eliminated completely, depending on their incomes.

A public notice accompanying the release of the application describes the private option as a “demonstration program” and says the state will demonstrate that the cost of providing coverage through the private option will be “comparable” to the traditional program.

The private option will also reduce “churning” - the disruption caused by moving people from one program to another as their income changes.

Under the private option, an individual whose income increases above 138 percent of the poverty level can stay in the same plan, but Medicaid would no longer pick up the premium. The person could still receive help paying the premium, however, through a federal tax credit available to those with incomes of up to 400 percent of the poverty level.

People can submit comments by sending a letter to the Human Services Department or an e-mail to hciw@ arkansas.gov.

The department will also hold two public hearings. The first will be from 10 a.m. to noon on July 2 in Room 126 of the I. Dodd Wilson Building at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St. in Little Rock. That hearing will also be accessible via a website link.

The second hearing will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 101 of the Math-Science Building at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, 5210 Grand Avenue in Fort Smith.

No comments had been submitted by late Monday.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 06/25/2013

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