HHS to Seek Comments on Waivers for Medicaid and Accountable Care Organizations

A recently surfaced regulatory action submitted to the White House's Office of Management and Budget(OMB) suggests that the Department of Health and Human Services is poised to request public comments on medicaid waivers related to Accountable Care Organizations and certain demonstration projects.

The regulation is entitled: Medicare Program; Solicitation of Public Comments on Waivers in "Connection with Sections 1899 and 1115A of the Social Security Act" (Regulation Identification Number 0938-ZB05).

While it's hard to say based solely on a title what this RFI is, the section numbers give us a clue.

Section 1899 deals with Accountable Care Organizations and says in relevant part:

(f) Waiver Authority.—The Secretary may waive such requirements of sections 1128A and 1128B and title XVIII of this Act as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

The two referenced sections deal with civil and criminal penalties for health care related violations.

Section 1115 deals with the ability of HHS to grant waivers from certain Medicaid requirements in order for those states to carry out "experimental, pilot, or demonstration project[s]."

Under Executive Order 12866 section 6(b)(2)(A), OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has 10 working days to review this RFI. So, assuming OIRA approves it, we should see it published soon.