Disability Rights Florida (DRF) joined 161 other organizations serving individuals with disabilities to ask the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to rescind an Interim Final Rule that weakens the beneficiary protections in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) maintenance of effort (MOE) provision. The organizations further requested the agencies prohibit states from reducing the amount, duration, and scope of enrollees’ Medicaid benefits until the end of the month in which the public health emergency ends.
The urgent request is a result of states already implementing cuts and reductions to Medicaid services and eligibility following the Interim Final Rule creating confusion and inconsistent policy changes across the country. A growing number of individuals are losing access to critical health care, including access to Medicaid home and community-based services that they depend on to remain in their homes and communities, and to avoid institutional congregate settings, during the pandemic.
To learn more, read the letter and the list of organizations supporting the measure.