CMS Withdraws Provider Tax Proposal

ANCOR expressed concern about the effect of the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR) would have had on state Medicaid budgets when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposal at the beginning of the year. As such we are relieved to see this reporting from Modern Healthcare:

“CMS is withdrawing its much-maligned Medicaid fiscal accountability regulation, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a tweet Monday.

The proposed rule was opposed by a wide range of stakeholders, including providers, state regulators and governors, patient advocacy groups and members of Congress because it would have ramped up federal oversight of how states fund their Medicaid programs and possibly led to significant funding cuts.

‘We’ve listened closely to concerns that have been raised by our state and provider partners about potential unintended consequences of the proposed rule, which require further study. Therefore, CMS is withdrawing the rule from the regulatory agenda,’ Verma tweeted.

According to an analysis conducted for the American Hospital Association by Manatt Health, the changes could have cut total Medicaid funding by up to $49 billion annually or roughly 8% each year.”

Politico Pulse further elaborates that “while CMS is indicating it won’t issue the Medicaid fiscal accountability rule this fall, it didn’t rule out reviving the overhaul at a later date.”