CQC Statement Regarding CMS Decision on Massachusetts Medicaid Waiver Request

By Consumers for Quality Care, on June 28, 2018

Following please find a statement from the Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) Board of Directors Jim Manley, Donna Christensen, Scott Mulhauser and Jason Resendez:

“As a coalition of advocates working to ensure that patients and their right to high-quality health care remain at the forefront of the health care debate, Consumers for Quality Care is heartened by the news that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected two of the most harmful components of Massachusetts’ Section 1115 Medicaid waiver request. Thanks to this decision, Bay Staters will not see their MassHealth eligibility capped at 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and they will not be funneled into a closed formulary that could have limited access to life saving medications and treatments.

When Gov. Baker’s administration submitted its waiver request, CQC urged CMS to reject the proposal that would make substantial cuts in coverage for current MassHealth recipients. CQC has since released its State Waiver Checklist to help all states applying for Section 1332 State Innovation and Section 1115 Medicaid waiver requests ensure that consumer care remains the focus throughout the waiver application process. We are pleased that CMS heard our voice and the voices of the many other consumer and patient advocates who objected to these proposed changes and we hope they will continue to do so as other anti-consumer policies are proposed by states.”