What Are Medicaid Waivers & Why Do They Matter?: An OPEN MINDS Market Intelligence Report

This Market Intelligence Report from the OPEN MINDS team discusses the role of waivers in the Medicaid system. Waivers give states the flexibility to make changes in how they operate their Medicaid programs by “waiving” certain federal requirements—specifically, provisions in Section 1902 of the Social Security Act (SSA). Waivers remain required if a state seeks to place caps on services, use waiting lists, or adopt geographic restrictions (to name a few).

There are 406 state Medicaid waivers currently approved by CMS. The majority of waivers are section 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers, which address services . . .