On May 13^th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a State Medicaid Director letter that provided guidance regarding the 10% increase to Federal matching funds for Medicaid HCBS. Key takeaways from this letter include:

• States may spend funding on both HCBS services and HCBS-related administrative activities, including:
  • No Wrong Door development;
  • Training;
  • Information technology implementation;
  • HCBS quality improvement, including implementation of quality surveys such as the National Core Indicators – Aging & Disabilities
• The funding from this FMAP increase can be spent until March 31, 2024;
• CMS defines the requirements for states to “supplement and not supplant” HCBS expenditures in place as of April 1, 2021 as:
  • Not imposing stricter eligibility standards, methodologies, or procedures for HCBS programs and services than were in place on April 1, 2021;
  • Preserving covered HCBS, including the services themselves and the amount, duration, and scope of those services, in effect as of April 1, 2021; and
  • Maintaining HCBS provider payments at a rate no less than those in place as of April 1, 2021.
• CMS will require states to submit both an initial and quarterly HCBS spending plan and narrative.

Click here to view the CMS Guidance.

Click here to view Advancing States’ summary and analysis of the guidance.