Afternoon Update on MOE and CLASS
Wanted to flag two issues coming out of this morning’s Finance Committee hearing: First, Sen. Hatch released a CRS report confirming that Secretary Sebelius DOES have the authority to waive the Medicaid maintenance of effort requirements in the health care law. Among the key quotes in the report: “It appears that the Secretary would have a substantial basis upon which to conclude that the specific language of Section 2001(b) of PPACA does not limit her general 1115 waiver authority, presumably allowing her to waive the MOE requirements in Section 2001(b) in furtherance of a demonstration project….It is likely that the courts would accord considerable deference to the Secretary’s interpretation of the provisions in question, and uphold the Secretary’s determination as ‘a reasonable interpretation made by the administrator of an agency.’” As a reminder, it’s been 76 days (and counting) since Governors made the first of multiple requests for flexibility from such mandates – and the Secretary has yet to give a straight answer as to whether or not she can relieve their massive fiscal burdens by granting flexibility from the mandates.
In addition, Senator Thune sent a letter to Budget Committee Chairman Conrad, requesting a hearing on the CLASS program. The request comes after Secretary Sebelius this morning repeatedly declined to deny the existence of HHS actuarial modeling conducted BEFORE the bill was enacted into law.