The feds have some issues with Tennessee’s block grant program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are looking for some significant changes to Tennessee’s block grant program approved toward the end of Republican President Donald Trump’s time in office.
The biggest questions appear to be over how the state will determine the amount of shared savings achieved through the new approach. One area the CDC has rejected out of hand is an effort to institute a closed formulary for prescription drugs under which the state could opt out of providing certain expensive medications approved by the FDA.
Negotiations are understood to have been going on for some time, so a letter sent to TennCare Director Stephen Smith last week did not come as a huge surprise to officials in Nashville. Here is what it said:
Dear Mr. Smith,
This letter is to advise Tennessee of a decision by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to propose changes to the waiver and expenditure authorities and the Special Terms and Conditions (STCs) for the TennCare III section 1115 demonstration (11-W-00369/4), in response to the federal public comment period which closed on September 9, 2021.
After reviewing the public comments, CMS has significant concerns on the following items and whether they promote the objectives of Medicaid and should be supported under section 1115 authority. CMS is evaluating a range of actions, but is asking the state to make the following changes to address these concerns. Making these adjustments would significantly mitigate CMS concerns. The following list summarizes CMS’ proposed changes to TennCare III.
Closed Formulary
Remove the expenditure authority for pharmacy and associated pharmacy flexibilities from the demonstration.
Financing of the Demonstration and Limitations on Reductions in Benefits or Coverage
Submit a new financing and budget neutrality model, based on a traditional per member per month cap instead of an aggregate cap. Additionally, modify the STCs to more explicitly state that Tennessee cannot cut benefits or coverage in effect December 31, 2021 without an amendment to the demonstration, subject to additional public comment period and CMS approval.
Demonstration Expenditure Authorities
We support the state’s policy goals to expand coverage and benefits and propose that instead of the current framework for savings and investment, CMS will work with the state on necessary expenditure authorities to meet common goals. In place of the structure in the current demonstration, the state should include in the demonstration amendment a request for expenditure authority for state reinvestments for initiatives that the state would like to support with budget neutrality savings (e.g., adult dental services, expanded 12-month postpartum coverage and enhanced home and community-based services; etc.).
We appreciate your state’s commitment to improving the health of the people in Tennessee, and being responsive to the concerns raised during the public comment period. At this time, CMS requests that Tennessee submit an amendment to the demonstration including the changes listed above, subject to the requirements for an amendment as described in the STCs, by August 30, 2022.
[…]
Sincerely,
Daniel Tsai
Deputy Administrator and Director
Feds rescind effort to lock in Medicaid changes made by Trump administration
A little over two weeks before President Donald Trump left office, the Republican administration sent out a letter to states like Tennessee to declare it was locking in any approved changes to Medicaid programs for a period of at least nine months. Democratic President Joe Biden is now rescinding that guidance, meaning that previously approved demonstration projects or waivers could be withdrawn at any time.
The most immediate effect of the move could be a cancellation of work requirements for Medicaid recipients that had been approved in several states. But Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation block grant could also be on the chopping block.
“We’re the first state in America that just got a federal waiver for Medicaid that allows us to share savings with the federal government,” Gov. Bill Lee told the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of partisan squabbling about that, but that was a business deal that was negotiated over a year-and-a-half that will allow Tennessee to have more money to spend on its Medicaid population than it would have underer a traditional Medicaid agreement.”
Read the full letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to TennCare Director Stephen Smith below.
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