Dive Brief:
- Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) has posted a waiver request on the state Medicaid program’s website, Modern Healthcare reported.
- Under the waiver, eligibility for Medicaid benefits wouldn’t kick in until the application is approved. The waiver also would eliminate retroactive coverage for enrollees.
- Bevin hopes to secure the waiver by Sept. 30 and implement the program next spring.
Dive Insight:
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government pays all healthcare costs for newly eligible Medicaid enrollees through 2016. After that, states must pay an increasing share of the bill, reaching 90% in 2020.
Former governor Steve Beshear, a Democrat, expanded Medicaid in 2013, with newly eligible enrollees reaping benefits as of Jan. 1, 2014. Kentucky HEALTH stands to gain 1.2 million people, at a cost to taxpayers of $2.2 billion for fiscal years 2017 to 2021.
Under the waiver, members would pay $1 to $15 a month and build up rewards accounts after completing disease healthy living and preventive care activities. Funds would be drawn down from the account if a person visited an emergency room for a nonemergency condition.
Patients above the poverty line who failed to pay their premium within 60 days would lose Medicaid coverage for six months, and would have to complete a financial or health literacy class to reenroll.
The waiver is similar Indiana’s Medicaid expansion program. Stakeholders have 30 days to comment on the proposal.