Since 2001, Half of State Medicaid Plans Have Leveraged DRA & Medicaid Waivers to Change Plan Aspects

OPEN MINDS On-Line News Strategic Health Care News About half of State Medicaid plans rely on Medicaid waivers and provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 to create flexible programs. Changes include benefit flexibility, cost sharing, enrollment expansions and caps, privatization, and program financing. No state has fully implemented all the flexibility permitted by the DRA. However, as fiscal problems create pressure on states, more changes are likely, which could lead to profound changes to the Medicaid program overall. These are findings of a report entitled “State Responses to New Flexibility in Medicaid” by Teresa A. Coughlin . . .