States not given Medicaid expansion deadline, Tavenner says

Marilyn Tavenner

In response to a flurry of questions from state governors, the Obama Administration announced it is not imposing a deadline for states to decide whether to implement the healthcare law's Medicaid expansion.

In a letter to Republican governors, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner also wrote that states could receive federal funding for information technology costs even if they do not participate in the expansion. If states ultimately opt out of the Medicaid expansion, they can still keep their I.T. funding.

Medicaid funding is a sticking point for long-term care operators who rely on the state-federal program for the bulk of their funding.

“The Supreme Court's decision leaves in place all aspects of the law affecting Medicaid, including this funding with one exception: A state, may not, as a consequence of not participating in the expansion, lose federal funding for its existing Medicaid program. The court's decision did not affect other provisions of the law,” Tavenner wrote.

Click here to read the full letter.