Department of Health & Human Services
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop S2-26-12
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
May 8, 2020
Jacey Cooper, Chief Deputy Director
Health Care Programs
California Department of Health Care Services
1501 Capitol Avenue, MS 0000
Sacramento, California 95899-7413
Re: Section 1135 Flexibilities Requested in March 16, 2020 and April 10, 2020 Communication (First Request & Third Request)
Dear Ms. Cooper:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted an initial approval to the State of California for multiple section 1135 flexibilities on March 23, 2020. Your initial request to CMS on March 16, 2020 and your follow-up communication to CMS on April 10, 2020 included requests for flexibilities we can now approve. Attached, please find a response to your requests for waivers or modifications, pursuant to section 1135 of the Social Security Act (Act), to address the challenges posed by COVID-19. This approval addresses those requests related to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as applicable. To the extent the requirements the state requested to waive or modify apply to CHIP, the state may apply the approved flexibilities to CHIP. This applies to the waivers included below, as well as the 1135 waivers granted to the state on March 23, 2020.
On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued a proclamation that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States constitutes a national emergency by the authorities vested in him by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and consistent with section 1135 of the Act. On March 13, 2020, pursuant to section 1135(b) of the Act, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services invoked his authority to waive or modify certain requirements of titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Act as a result of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the extent necessary, as determined by CMS, to ensure that sufficient health care items and services are available to meet the needs of individuals enrolled in the respective programs and to ensure that health care providers that furnish such items and services in good faith, but are unable to comply with one or more of such requirements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, may be reimbursed for such items and services and exempted from sanctions for such noncompliance, absent any determination of fraud or abuse. This authority took effect as of 6PM Eastern Standard Time on March 15, 2020, with a retroactive effective date of March 1, 2020. The emergency period will terminate, and section 1135 waivers will no longer be available, upon termination of the public health emergency, including any extensions.
To streamline the section 1135 waiver request and approval process, CMS has issued a number of blanket waivers for many Medicare provisions, which primarily affect requirements for individual facilities, such as hospitals, long term care facilities, home health agencies, and so on. Waiver or modification of these provisions does not require individualized approval, and, therefore, these authorities are not addressed in this letter. Please refer to the current blanket waiver issued by CMS.
Please note that CMS recently revised the Section 1135 waiver for prior authorization that was approved in California’s first Section 1135 waiver approval dated March 23, 2020. This new language supersedes the waiver language in the previously-approved letter and addresses the State’s clarification in its March 19, 2020 letter pertaining to its request to waive prior authorization requirements.
CMS continues to work on the additional waiver or modification requests that are not currently reflected in the attached approval. For those waiver or modification requests that require approval under authority other than section 1135, such as under applicable regulations, through an amendment to the state plan, or through a section 1115 demonstration, my staff will continue to work with your team to review and make determinations regarding approval as quickly as possible.
Please contact Jackie Glaze, Deputy Director, Medicaid and CHIP Operations Group, at (404) 387-0121 or by email at Jackie.Glaze@cms.hhs.gov if you have any questions or need additional information. We appreciate the efforts of you and your staff in responding to the needs of the residents of the State of California and the health care community.
Sincerely,
Calder Lynch
Deputy Administrator and Director
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
APPROVAL OF FEDERAL SECTION 1135 WAIVER REQUESTS
CMS Response: May 8, 2020
To the extent applicable, the following waivers and modifications also apply to CHIP.
Extend pre-existing authorizations for which a beneficiary has previously received prior authorization through the end of the public health emergency.
If prior authorization processes are outlined in California’s state plan for particular benefits, CMS is using the flexibilities afforded under section 1135(b)(1)(C) of the Act that allow for waiver or modification of pre-approval requirements to permit services approved to be provided on or after March 1, 2020, to continue to be provided without a requirement for a new or renewed prior authorization, through the termination of the public health emergency, including any extensions (up to the last day of the emergency period under section 1135(e) of the Act), for beneficiaries with a permanent residence in the geographic area of the public health emergency declared by the Secretary.
HCBS Settings Requirements for Specified Settings
Pursuant to section 1135(b)(1)(B) of the Act, CMS approves a waiver to temporarily allow services provided under the 1915(c) HCBS waiver program, the 1915(i) HCBS State plan benefit, and the Community First Choice State plan option at 1915(k) to be provided in settings that have not been determined to meet the home and community-based settings criteria. This waiver applies to settings that have been added since the March 17, 2014, effective date of the HCBS final regulation (CMS 2249-F/2296-F), to which the HCBS settings criteria currently applies, to accommodate circumstances in which an individual requires relocation to an alternative setting to ensure the continuation of needed home and community-based services.
Requirement to Obtain Beneficiary and Provider Signatures of HCBS Person-Centered Service Plan
Pursuant to section 1135(b)(1)(C) of the Act, CMS is granting authority to permit the state to temporarily waive written consent required under home and community based service programs under 42 C.F.R. §441.301(c)(2)(ix) for 1915(c) waiver programs, 42 C.F.R. §441.725(b)(9) for 1915(i) HCBS state plan programs, and 42 C.F.R. §441.540(b)(9) for 1915(k) Community First Choice programs that require person-centered service plans receive written consent from beneficiaries and be signed by beneficiaries and all providers responsible for its implementation and permit documented verbal consent as an alternate.
Duration of Approved Waivers
Unless otherwise specified above, the section 1135 waivers described herein are effective March 1, 2020 and will terminate upon termination of the public health emergency, including any extensions. In no case will any of these waivers extend past the last day of the public health emergency (or any extension thereof).