Mental Health Professional Wary of KY, WV Medicaid changes
Kentucky and West Virginia are the first states to amend their Medicaidprograms permanently under a new federal law that allows states to enactchanges to the programs.
Although federal officials refer to newly approved Medicaid programs inKentucky and West Virginia as “historic,” mental healthprofessionals have mixed reactions to their likely impact on patients.
The two states were the first to receive federal approval of redesigns oftheir Medicaid programs under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA, PL109-171), which gave states more flexibility to design Medicaid programs withincreased cost-sharing for some services and populations.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved thetwo state plans in early April, although both are still finalizing somecomponents.
The redesigns, which unlike past Medicaid waivers are permanent, strive totailor Medicaid service to the age and health status of individual recipients.Prior to enactment of the DRA, Health and Human Services Secretary MikeLeavitt said, states generally could not target benefits to specific groups ofenrollees.
“Kentucky is leading the nation in crafting Medicaid benefit packagesto the needs of its residents,” Leavitt said, when announcing thatprogram’s approval. “These changes make sense for enrollees and the veryfuture of the Medicaid program.”
The Kentucky program, called Ky-Health Choices, will offer various benefitpackages aimed at meeting the needs of groups such as children, the elderly,people with disabilities who need institutional care, and the general Medicaidpopulation. Medicaid enrollees can choose the most appropriate benefit planbased on their needs, such as the Family Choices program to serve healthychildren and Comprehensive Choices and Optimum Choices to serve individualswith complex health care needs.
Read more about the concerns of experts in Psychiatric News.