loading…
loading…
loading…
Page 17 – State Health Official Letter To expand on such system modifications, for example, states may need to update eligibility determination logic to reflect those immigration statuses and categories for which FFP remains available for full Medicaid and CHIP benefits and to revise logic for those immigration statuses and categories for which FFP is available for emergency Medicaid only. See Appendix A for a list of these impacted immigration statuses and categories. As discussed above, depending on how a state implements emergency Medicaid coverage, state systems may recognize such impacted beneficiaries as either eligible only for payment for emergency Medicaid services or as ineligible for full Medicaid benefits and, subsequently, determine their eligibility again if the individual needs treatment of an emergency medical condition for which Medicaid coverage is available pursuant to section 1903(v)(2) of the Act. Additionally, depending on which of the three pathways a state uses to verify immigration status or category, states may need to either: (1) update schema to accept new Hub indicators for eligible noncitizen codes (in states that use the VLP service through the Hub); or (2) update verification logic to interpret SAVE codes to determine who is an FFP-eligible noncitizen (in states with a direct connection to SAVE or that use the GUI). States should ensure that these interconnected policy and system requirements function seamlessly together. Equally important is ensuring the vendors supporting the implementation clearly understand their role and expectations. Without proper alignment between policy design and technological capabilities, states may create administrative burdens that undermine program effectiveness and cost- efficiency. When establishing state-specific policies, states should consult with their system implementation teams to ensure policies can be operationalized in their systems. CMS recognizes the program changes could require significant IT system work to fulfill policy implementation. State Medicaid agency IT system costs necessary to support requirements may be eligible for enhanced FFP. Approval of enhanced FFP requires the submission of an Advanced Planning Document (APD). A state may submit an APD requesting approval for a 90/10 enhanced match for the design, development, and installation of its Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) initiatives contributing to the economic and efficient operation of the program. States should refer to 45 C.F.R. Part 95 Subpart F entitled “Automatic Data Processing Equipment and Services-Conditions for FFP” for the specifics related to APD submission and to 42 C.F.R § 433.112 entitled “FFP for design, development, installation or enhancement of mechanized processing and information retrieval systems” for specifics related to enhanced match. States may also request a 75/25 enhanced match for ongoing operations of CMS approved systems. States should refer to 42 C.F.R. Part 433 Subpart C entitled “Mechanized Claims Processing and Information Retrieval Systems” for the specifics related to systems approval. Receipt of these enhanced funds is conditioned upon states meeting a series of standards and conditions to ensure investments are efficient and effective. To the extent these system costs are attributable to a state’s CHIP (Medicaid expansion CHIP (MCHIP) or separate CHIP), cost-allocation methodologies set forth in 45 C.F.R. Part 75 apply. For the CHIP-funded portion of the cost, states