Guided by the time-tested adage that "week-and-a-half-old news is still news worth blogging about," we're interested in sparking a conversation here at Hub & Spoke about the recently-finalized 1115 Medicaid Waiver.
As most of our readers will know, 1115 Medicaid Waivers are agreements between the state and federal governments that determine how California structures major parts of its Medi-Cal program. It's a "waiver" because the agreement on Medi-Cal structure, while approved by the feds, deviates from the plain-vanilla federal template that the Medicaid program would otherwise default to.
Here's how the LA Times framed the story:
The Obama administration on Tuesday approved a $10-billion plan to help California modernize and expand its Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, pushing the state to the forefront of the national effort to implement the new healthcare law.
The administration's much-anticipated decision to grant a so-called Medicaid waiver could ultimately help cover hundreds of thousands more Californians over the next five years. State and federal officials hope that will bolster efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of care provided to the state's poorest residents.
So, that said, the question for this community is this: how will the new 1115 Medicaid Waiver impact Contra Costa and Solano Counties?
More specifically:
- In Contra Costa County, given that a Health Coverage Initiative already exists - a facet of the previous 1115 Waiver - what will change for low-income adults under the new Waiver?
- In Solano County, what are the opportunities presented by the new Waiver that the County might have the resources to take advantage of?
We don't pose these questions rhetorically - we really do want to know.
So if you, dear reader, have insight into any of these mini-mysteries, please comment below and share the wisdom for our online community!
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