Under the Social Security Act, Section 1115 waivers allow states to test healthcare delivery models for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The deal extends Texas’ waiver for another five years, and will provide the state with about $25 billion to care for lower-income and uninsured people at its nonprofit and county-owned hospitals.
Texas declined to expand its Medicaid program under the ACA. Therefore, the 1115 waiver, also known as a Medicaid transformation waiver, is vital to maintain the state’s safety net.
“Failure to approve the 1115 waiver would have resulted in near catastrophic consequences for the state’s most vulnerable populations,” Ted Shaw, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association, told The Texas Tribune. “The waiver has been absolutely critical for increasing access to quality healthcare.”
CMS first approved Texas’ waiver, which was originally intended to help the state expand its privatized managed care insurance system for Medicaid patients, in 2011, according to the report.
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