Please distribute widely
Your Comments Needed:
Proposed Federal Regulations Would Subject
Medicaid Beneficiaries to LTSS Co-Payments
We need your help! Please provide comments to the federal government to object to proposed Medicaid regulations that would allow states to charge co-pays for home care and other community-based services.
The deadline for submitting comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the proposed regulations is Thursday, February 21 at 5 p.m. ET. The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) urges you to submit your own comments and spread the word to anyone who cares about community-based long-term services and supports.
Everyone – including advocates that don’t usually comment on federal regulations – should take action to protect access to community-based services.
What You Can Do:
FILE COMMENTS:
- Go to www.regulations.gov
- Type CMS-2334-P in the “SEARCH” box
- Click the blue “Comment Now!” box
- Enter your information
- Paste in the comments below, or write your own, and hit “Submit”
Co-Payments Should Not Be Allowed in Medicaid for Community-Based Long-Term Services and Supports
The Medicaid program should encourage people to use community-based long-term services and supports, to promote health and independence. There is no good reason to charge co-pays and other payments for these needed services. Out-of-pocket costs discourage people from receiving ongoing needed services and lead to costly institutional care.
The current proposed regulations give states the option to charge co-payments and premiums for community-based long-term services and supports.
We recommend that states be required to exempt community-based long-term services and supports from co-payments and premiums. Nursing home residents already have such an exemption. States should not be allowed to discriminate unjustifiably against beneficiaries who prefer to live at home and in the community.
FORWARD and LEARN MORE:
Please forward this information to your networks. The more comments filed, the more CMS is likely to pay serious attention to this issue.
For a text of the proposed regulations, go to: Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Programs and Exchanges Proposed Rule (January 22, 2013).
For NSCLC’s more extensive comments on the proposed regulations, click here.
Thank you for your advocacy!
