The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted Medicaid waivers to 11 states to help them respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total number of states with such waivers to 13, the agency said in a news release.
The waivers that CMS granted, known as Section 1135 waivers, became possible from a regulatory perspective after President Trump declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency.
These waivers provide flexibility in meeting administrative functions, such as prior authorization and provider enrollment requirements, certain nursing home pre-admission reviews, and reimbursing providers for care delivered in alternative settings due to facility evacuations, CMS said in a statement.
The Medicaid waivers were granted to Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina and Virginia. CMS previously granted Medicaid waivers to Florida and Washington.
