Washington state lawmakers seek Medicare, Medicaid COVID-19 waiver

A delegation of federal lawmakers representing the state of Washington is seeking a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMMS) national emergency waiver to aid in addressing COVID-19.

The Senate and House of Representatives members have forwarded correspondence to CMMS Administrator Seema Verma requesting the waiver be granted under section 1135 of the Social Security Act as a means of gaining increased flexibility and efficiency in response to the growing spread of coronavirus across the state.

“We write to urge swift consideration of Washington state’s application for a national emergency waiver under section 1135 of the Social Security Act,” the legislators wrote. “There are currently over 750 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Washington state and, unfortunately, as of the writing of this letter, 42 Washingtonians have died of the disease. Community transmission is occurring within the state, and experts expect a significant increase in the number of cases in the coming days and weeks. As part of the state’s comprehensive response to the outbreak, Gov. (Jay) Inslee, on behalf of the Washington Health Care Authority, submitted an application for an 1135 waiver to provide the state with needed flexibilities to respond to the outbreak.”

The waiver would allow Washington state hospitals to screen and triage patients at off-site locations, ensure hospitals have the needed capacity to treat patients during the outbreak and free up inpatient beds, mitigate the impact of shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), and reduce the risk of transmission among patients and with providers.

Washington state has also requested several flexibilities under the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) to free up hospital beds, waive requirements for cost-sharing associated with coronavirus testing and screening, minimize disruptions to behavioral health and long-term care services and mitigate provider shortages.