CMS finalizes rule ending certain Medicaid payments to third parties

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued a final rule that eliminates 2014 regulatory text allowing states to reassign Medicaid payments to third parties on behalf of certain providers, primarily independent in-home personal care workers, for benefits customary for employees. “State Medicaid programs are responsible for ensuring that taxpayer dollars are dedicated to providing health care services for low-income, vulnerable Americans and are not diverted in ways that do not comply with federal law,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “This final rule is intended to ensure that providers receive their complete payment, and that any circumstance where a state redirects part of a provider’s payment is clearly allowed under the law.”