Recommended Initiatives
Important Issues
Recommended Initiative 4:
Federal Funding Flexibility
Related News | Policy Papers & Articles | Web ResourcesMaximize the use of flexibility afforded states in how they use federal funds for state programs such as Medicaid and S-CHIP by taking greater advantage of waivers offered by the u.s. department of Health and Human Services includes passing state legislation to create an incubator environment for Florida-based S-CHIP expansion and Medicaid waiver programs. Such legislation would provide approval and funding authority, within limits, to the Agency for Healthcare Administration to foster and approve such projects, even on a regional basis, without the need for legislative approval of each specific program. It also includes conducting workshops with legislators to help them understand the benefits of such projects.
Benefit of Recommended Initiative 4
While the federal government allocates each state a limited amount of S-CHIP dollars, there is no limit to the amount they will match for Medicaid programs. (The 2004 federal matching rate for the State of Florida was 62% for Medicaid recipients and 71 percent for people covered under the S-CHIP program.)
A streamlined process will allow the Medicaid and S-CHIP programs to be more responsive to community needs and to respond to changes in needed services given available resources. Allowing specific experimental or innovative programs to proceed without legislative involvement will make the process more efficient, meaning appropriate services will be delivered in a more timely fashion.