Feds demand Medicaid backlog fixes in Kansas

Obama administration announces Medicaid
enrollment mitigation plan deadline to six states

The Obama administration has given Kansas and five other states until Monday to submit plans to resolve issues that have prevented more than 1 million low-income or disabled people from getting health coverage.

“CMS is asking several state Medicaid agencies to provide updated mitigation plans to address gaps that exist in their eligibility and enrollment systems to ensure timely processing of applications and access to coverage for eligible people,” Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said to Kaiser Health News. He said the agency will monitor states’ progress in solving the problems getting people enrolled in the state-federal insurance program for the poor.

According to an article posted on KHI News, Kansas has drawn attention from federal authorities due to its slow moving and relatively large waiting lists for home- and community-based services, which advocates for the disabled have said puts the state in violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court's so-called Olmstead decision...Read More