Georgia to pursue waiver for partial Medicaid expansion

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp yesterday signed legislation authorizing the state to pursue a federal waiver to expand Medicaid eligibility to uninsured adults earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level, less than the 138 percent FPL required to receive enhanced federal matching funds under the Affordable Care Act. To date, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has not allowed states to receive enhanced matching funds unless the entire expansion group is covered. However, CMS Administrator Seema Verma has signaled a willingness to work with states. “I think they [states] are better positioned to figure out what’s going to work best for them,” Verma said on a recent Politico podcast. “…So I’ve said to states and to governors, ‘Tell me what you want to do, and it’s my job to help you get to where you want to go.’”