Texas hospitals applaud Medicaid waiver extension

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday agreed to extend, with changes, a Texas Medicaid demonstration project for five years effective Jan. 1. The agreement extends the state’s Medicaid managed care programs and federal funding for the state’s uncompensated care pool and incentive payment program to support delivery system transformation. “Failure to approve the 1115 Waiver would have resulted in near catastrophic consequences for the state’s most vulnerable populations,” said Ted Shaw, president/CEO of the Texas Hospital Association. “The waiver has been absolutely critical for increasing access to quality health care. And it has done so with an efficiency that has saved Texas and the federal government more than $8 billion.”