CMS Administrator Seema Verma addressed the National Association of Medicaid Directors earlier this week, outlining the Trump Administration's stance on Medicaid benefits and what to expect in the future, according to the Washington Post.
Here are four key takeaways from the address:
1. The ACA expanded Medicaid coverage to more low-income Americans, including additional "able-bodied adults" and increased overall spending on the program. Ms. Verma sees the expansion as problematic and plans to retool Medicaid.
"Believing that community engagement requirements do not support the objectives of Medicaid is a tragic example of the soft bigotry of low expectations consistently espoused by the prior administration. Those days are over," she said.
2. Ms. Verma feels the previous administration's requirements for Medicaid reporting were too cumbersome and plans to be more open to state waiver requests for running Medicaid through alterative programs. She plans to expedite waivers that are similar to programs approved in the past and starting a report card to grade state programs.
3. Six states are in the application process or plan to apply for programs that require Medicaid enrollees to maintain a job or provide community service volunteering in exchange for coverage. The Obama Administration rejected models that required work in exchange for coverage, but Ms. Verma is a longtime supporter of the model.
4. Ms. Verma maintained President Trump's commitment to the Medicaid program.