Medicare and Medicaid rules will be waived

Therefore, federal law permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive certain provisions of the Social Security Act and associated regulations as needed to conduct demonstration projects in Medicare, Medicaid, or both Medicare and Medicaid. Waivers are purely discretionary unless legislation mandates a specific project.

Medicaid Waivers under Section 1115:

Section 1115 of the Social Security Act is the principal waiver authority in Medicaid. The HHS Secretary may waive most federal requirements regarding Medicaid benefit packages, eligibility, cost sharing, managed care, and other care delivery. A Medicaid demonstration may be statewide or for only a portion of the state (select counties). (States may also request similar waivers of federal law to reform SCHIP.)

Ostensively, Medicaid waiver projects are research-oriented and intended to test the merits of a new reform(s) not permitted under current law. However, in practice, many Medicaid “demonstrations” are or soon evolve into indefinite, alternative models of Medicaid. Although under no obligation to do so, the HHS Secretary may approve similar or even identical waivers for multiple states.

Medicaid waivers must be requested by the state Medicaid agency, with the approval of the governor. Federal officials may encourage states to propose waivers and Congress occasionally enacts legislation calling for waivers to demonstrate specific reforms. However, the vast majority of Medicaid waiver-based projects are initiated and designed by state governments, often with the assistance of outside experts.

Once approved, Medicaid demonstration projects are operated by the state Medicaid agency, with oversight by CMS. The state may contract with third parties, such as health plans or other contractors, but s. 1115 demonstrations remain part of Medicaid and therefore the state is also responsible for the demonstration project.

Roughly speaking, between a quarter and a third of Medicaid spending operates under s. 1115 waivers instead of standard Medicaid statutes and rules.

Medicare Waivers under Sections 402/222:

Under Sections 402/222, the HHS Secretary may waive Medicare statutes and rules to demonstrate new approaches to provider reimbursement, including tests of alternative payment methodologies, demos of new delivery systems, and coverage of additional services to improve the overall efficiency of Medicare. (Sections 402/222 refer to section 402[a] of the Social Security Amendments of 1967, as amended by section 222[a] of the Social Security Amendments of 1972.)

Medicare demonstrations may be national or limited to certain states, regions, populations, provider types, or even providers or plans designated in advance. They may also be limited in other ways, such as capped in number of participating beneficiaries or providers. Unlike Medicaid demonstrations, participation in Medicare demonstrations, whether by beneficiaries or providers, is rarely mandatory and then only if required by a Congressional mandate.

Any organization or individual may propose a Medicare waiver project. This includes providers, health plans, state Medicaid agencies, and health services researchers. CMS maintains an open invitation for outside parties to propose Medicare demonstration projects and the necessary waivers. However, the bulk of Medicare waiver-based demo projects are congressionally mandated in legislation or initiated administratively by CMS. CMS-initiated Medicare demonstration projects are often developed at the behest of the HHS Secretary, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), or the Office of the Inspector General.

Unlike many Medicaid waiver-based projects, most Medicare waiver projects tend to be genuine demonstrations projects with a careful research design and evaluation methodology. Given this research emphasis, requests to replicate currently operating Medicare demonstrations are often denied unless a research value can be shown.

Occasionally, ss. 402/222 authority is used to issue what CMS informally calls “operational waivers.” These later waivers are often made to address emergencies or fix short-term operational problems (e.g., provider payments after a natural disaster, reimburse states for drug payments during Medicare Part D transition).

Once approved, Medicare waiver projects are administered by CMS either directly, through contractors (e.g., Medicare administrative contractors, Medicare Advantage plans), or (rarely) through states. Except for operational waivers, CMS evaluates each demonstration projects. Major Medicare demonstrations, including congressionally mandated projects, are evaluated by independent health services researchers hired by CMS. CMS’ budget for evaluations is small, with congressionally mandated demonstrations using most of the available funding. This, coupled with the administrative burden of designing, operating, and monitoring waivers, tends to limit the number of Medicare waivers CMS is able to consider.

Combined Medicare-Medicaid Projects:

States may propose demonstration projects involving the waiver of both Medicaid and Medicare statutes and rules. Combining the authority offered by s. 1115 (Medicaid) and ss. 402/222 (Medicare), the HHS Secretary is able to consider an array of Medicare-Medicaid demonstration ideas, most notably state-wide or regional initiatives changing care delivery, benefit packages, and service reimbursement for dual eligibles.

Examples of combined Medicare-Medicaid waiver projects include:

Massachusetts Senior Care Options: Fully integrated managed care program, offered through Senior Care Organizations (SCOs), covering the full range of acute and long-term care benefits for dually eligible and Medicaid-only recipients age 65 and over.

Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO): Combines all Medicare and Medicaid covered health benefits and support systems into one health care package. Covers beneficiaries aged 65 older who are dual eligibles or who have Medicaid only. MSHO enrollees are assigned a care coordinator who helps them get their heath care and related support services.

Historically rarer than Medicaid-only and Medicare-only demonstrations, combined waiver-based projects are increasingly popular as states develop integrated care models for dual eligibles and managed long-term care models. A variety of other activities by policymakers and the marketplace have also dramatically increased interest in and practicality of combined waiver demonstrations. These include the advent and popularity of Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (MA-SNPs), advances in risk adjustment methodologies and quality measurement, sharing of best practices, and collaborations among influential states, foundations, thought leaders, think tanks, and CMS.