The Medicaid Review Process and Approval times are at the forefront of CMS effort to “implement changes resulting in faster processing of state requests to make program or benefit changes to their Medicaid program through the state plan amendment (SPA) and section 1915 waiver review process. According to reports, SPAs allow states to change their Medicaid program policies or operational approaches, while 1915 waivers let states develop home and community-based services for individuals who receive long-term care services and supports.
As part of that effort, CMS staff has already begun conducting introductory calls with states within 15 days of receiving a new SPA or section 1915 waiver submission.
According to this excerpt from the news release,
CMS issued a bulletin announcing an initiative to revamp these processes, highlighting four specific improvements: 1) a call with states within 15 days of receipt of each submission to review the state’s request and any critical timelines to help expedite the review process; 2) launch of new tools available to states to facilitate the development of complete submissions; 3) implementation of a strategy to reduce a significant backlog of state requests and 4) expanding the use of MACPro, a web-based system for processing requests.
