AOPA Government Affairs News

Expanded Medicaid Eligibility Rule Announced

CMS published the proposed rule entitled “Medicaid Program: Eligibility Changes under the Affordable Care Act of 2010” on August 17, 2011.  This rule proposes to implement certain provisions of title II of ACA.  In particular, the proposed rule expands Medicaid eligibility, which is a perceived positive for the O&P Industry.  However, most of us have already seen that the efforts to expand Medicaid eligibility via ACA will be accompanied by funding challenges, for example: (1) we already have seen efforts by some financially hard-pressed states to cut back on payments, eligibility for O&P care; (2) while CMS rules refer to increased federal matching funds support (FMAP) as the number of Medicaid beneficiaries rises, it is hard to see that happening very easily in the present environment.

Click here to read a full summary prepared by AOPA detailing the key points of the proposed rules.

Questions? Contact Catherine Graf at (571) 431-0807 or CGraf@AOPAnet.org .