WICS Live: Around the States

California: State Officials Seeking Broader Waiver Authority to Boost Federal Funding.The current Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver, which was approved in 2005, prohibits intergovernmental transfers and provider taxes as means of drawing down additional Federal funds and includes a “coverage initiative” that provides funding for county initiatives to offer care to about 100,000 previously uninsured individuals (see related Budget Round Up article). The $18 billion waiver expires in August 2010, and the Schwarzenegger administration is already putting together a concept paper for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) officials. The state is apparently looking at changes to financing safety-net hospitals, whose finding is capped under the current waiver but provide significant care to the state’s uninsured population. The state is likely to propose to address the needs of high-cost populations, such as individuals with disabilities and children with special needs, according to state officials. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) also wants flexibility in the next waiver to address eligibility standards and funding. There is some uncertainty, however, how any new state waiver will mesh with the current federal health reform debate—or if it will need to.