Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Medicaid Premiums Children topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Medicaid director says budget assumes premiums for children above 255% FPL; senators press on collection and disenrollment
Summary
State Medicaid director Henry Littman told the Senate Finance Committee the administration’s budget assumes collecting premiums of up to 5% of family income for children in households above 255% of the federal poverty level (about 8,600 children), and senators questioned collection mechanisms, disenrollment and revenue impacts.
State Medicaid director Henry Littman told the Senate Finance Committee the administration’s budget assumes charging premiums of up to 5% of family income for children in families above 255% of the federal poverty level, and that the department estimates roughly 8,600 children could fall into the premium‑paying cohort.
Littman described the department’s approach for the children’s proposal: identify children in families above 255% of the federal poverty level, calculate premiums up to 5% of family income, and apply a collection factor in the budget to account for nonpayment and administrative costs. He said the department plans to consult with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on collection procedures.
Senator Rosenbaum raised an affordability concern, telling the committee that a premium calculated at 5% of income could “add up to nearly $300 a month for a family that earns maybe around $22,000 a year,” and asked for details on how the department calculated premium amounts. Littman said the department started with an estimate of the eligible population and applied collection assumptions; he repeated the department’s estimate of about 8,600 children in the affected income range and said a collection factor was built into the budget to offset administrative costs.
Members asked whether the department planned to disenroll people after they exhaust appeal rights and what the expected disenrollment numbers might be. Littman said the department will follow federal law and intends to meet with CMS to get guidance; he said the department did not have a firm figure for eventual disenrollments. When asked whether the savings estimates accounted for negative impacts on net patient service revenues that could reduce tax payments, Littman responded that they did not.
Why it matters: the premium proposal affects access and affordability for children in families above the specified threshold, introduces new administrative steps for premium collection, and may require federal review (CMS) or a state plan amendment depending on federal rules. Senators pressed for more information on collection costs, disenrollment protections, and the fiscal assumptions behind the projection.
Ending: Committee members said further questions will be pursued when the item is considered on the hold list; Littman said the department will meet with CMS and work through implementation details.
