DHS submits 1135 waiver in response to COVID-19

The Department of Health Services submitted an emergency Medicaid waiver to the federal government Thursday morning, a DHS spokeswoman said.

The agency was able to submit the waiver under a new law enacted Wednesday that lifted legislative oversight requirements for it.

DHS previously tried to gain approval for the waiver by going through the Joint Finance Committee, but was blocked due to a state law enacted after Gov. Tony Evers was elected, but before he took office.

So far, 48 states have received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for 1135 waivers. Wisconsin and Ohio are the only ones without approved waivers, according to a tracker by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Wisconsin’s waiver would, among other things, allow providers to get payments for services provided in mobile testing sites, temporary shelters or other non-traditional facilities and suspend cost-sharing for all program recipients during the emergency.

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