Medicaid Demonstrations: Actions Needed to Address Weaknesses in Oversight of Costs to Administer Work Requirements
Released: 2019-10-10T00:00:00

Letter

Background

Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstrations

As of November 2018, 43 states operated at least part of their Medicaid programs under demonstrations. State demonstrations can vary in size and scope, and many demonstrations are comprehensive in nature, affecting multiple aspects of states’ Medicaid programs. In fiscal year 2017, federal spending on demonstrations accounted for more than one- third of total federal Medicaid spending and in eight states accounted for 75 percent or more of Medicaid expenditures.

CMS typically approves demonstrations for an initial 5-year period that can be extended in 3- to 5-year increments with CMS approval. Some states have operated portions of their Medicaid programs under a demonstration for decades. Each demonstration is governed by special terms and conditions, which reflect the agreement reached between CMS and the state, and describe the authorities granted to the state. For example, the special terms and conditions may define what demonstration funds can be spent on—including which populations and services—as well as specify reporting requirements, such as monitoring or evaluation reports states must submit to CMS.

Work Requirements

In January 2018, CMS announced a new policy to support states interested in using demonstrations to make participation in work or community engagement a requirement to maintain Medicaid eligibility or coverage. CMS’s guidance indicates that states have flexibility in designing demonstrations that test work requirements, but it also describes parameters around the populations that could be subject to work requirements and other expectations. CMS guidance addresses several areas, including the following:

Populations. Work requirements should apply to working-age, non- pregnant adult beneficiaries who qualify for Medicaid on a basis other than a disability.

Exemptions and qualifying activities. States must create exemptions for individuals who are medically frail or have acute medical conditions. States must also take steps to ensure eligible individuals with opioid addiction and other substance use disorders have access to coverage and treatment services and provide reasonable modifications for them, such as counting time spent in medical treatment toward work requirements. The guidance indicates that states can allow a range of qualifying activities that satisfy work requirements, such as job training, education programs, and community service. The guidance also encourages states to consider aligning Medicaid work requirements with work requirements in other federal assistance programs operating in their states.

Beneficiary supports. States are expected to describe their strategies to assist beneficiaries in meeting work requirements and to link them to additional resources for job training, child care assistance, transportation, or other work supports. However, CMS’s guidance specifies that states are not authorized to use Medicaid funds to finance these beneficiary supports.

About one-third of states have either received CMS approval or submitted applications to CMS to test work requirements in their demonstrations. Nine states have had work requirements approved as part of new demonstrations or extensions of or amendments to existing demonstrations as of May 2019. Also as of May 2019, seven more states had submitted demonstration applications with work requirements, which were pending CMS approval. (See fig. 1.)

States with approved work requirements were in various stages of implementation as of August 2019, and three states faced legal challenges to implementation. The requirements were in effect in Arkansas for 9 months before a federal district court vacated the approval in March 2019. Work requirements became effective in Indiana in January 2019 and will be enforced beginning in January 2020. CMS’s approval of work requirements in Kentucky was vacated in March 2019— several days before the work requirements were set to become effective on April 1, 2019. As of August 2019, CMS was appealing the court decisions vacating demonstration approvals in Arkansas and Kentucky. Other states’ requirements are approved to take effect in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. (See fig. 2.)

Federal Funding for Administrative Costs to Implement Work Requirements

Implementing work requirements, as with other types of beneficiary requirements, can involve an array of administrative activities by states, including developing or adapting eligibility and enrollment systems, educating beneficiaries, and training staff. In general, CMS provides federal funds for 50 percent (referred to as a 50 percent matching rate) of state Medicaid administrative costs. These funds are for activities considered necessary for the proper and efficient administration of a state’s Medicaid program, including those parts operated under demonstrations. CMS provides higher matching rates for certain administrative costs, including those related to IT systems. For example, expenditures to design, develop, and install Medicaid eligibility and enrollment systems are matched at 90 percent, and maintenance and operations of these systems are matched at 75 percent.

States may also receive federal funds for administrative activities delegated to MCOs. The amount of federal Medicaid funds states receive for payments to MCOs that bear financial risk for Medicaid expenditures is determined annually by a statutory formula based on the state’s per capita income, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). The FMAP sets a specific federal matching rate for each state that, for fiscal year 2019, ranges from 50 percent to 76 percent. There are exceptions to this rate for certain populations, providers, and services. For example, states that chose to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) receive a higher FMAP for newly eligible adults, equal to 93 percent in 2019. (See fig. 3.)

CMS Oversight of Administrative Costs

CMS has several different related processes under which the agency oversees Medicaid administrative costs, including those for demonstrations.

Demonstration approval, monitoring, and evaluation. States seeking demonstration approvals must meet transparency requirements established by CMS. For example, states must include certain information about the expected changes in expenditures under the demonstration in public notices seeking comment at the state level and in the application to CMS, which is posted for public comment at the federal level. In addition, CMS policy requires that demonstrations be budget neutral—that is, that the federal government should spend no more under a demonstration than it would have without the demonstration. Prior to approval, states are required to submit an analysis of their projected costs with and without the demonstration. CMS uses this information to determine budget neutrality and set spending limits for demonstrations. During the demonstration, CMS is responsible for monitoring the state’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the demonstration, including those related to how Medicaid funds can be spent and the demonstration spending limit. States must also evaluate their demonstrations to assess the effects of the policies being tested, which could include impacts on cost.

Review and approval of federal matching funds for IT projects.

To request higher federal matching rates for changes to Medicaid IT systems, including eligibility and enrollment systems, states must submit planning documents to CMS for review and approval. States’ plans must include sufficient information to evaluate the state’s goals, procurement approach, and cost allocations within a specified budget. States may request funds for system development related to a proposed demonstration before the demonstration is approved. Funding can be approved and expended under the approved plan while the demonstration application is being reviewed. States submit updates to planning documents annually for CMS review, which can include requested changes to the approved budget.

Quarterly expenditure reviews. In order to receive federal matching funds, states report their Medicaid expenditures quarterly to CMS, including those made under demonstrations. Expenditures associated with demonstrations, including administrative expenditures, are reported separately from other expenditures. CMS is responsible for ensuring that expenditures reported by states are supported and allowable, meaning that the state actually made and recorded the expenditure and that the expenditure is consistent with Medicaid requirements. With regard to consistency, this includes comparing reported expenditures to various approval documents. For example, CMS is responsible for comparing reported demonstration expenditures against the special terms and conditions that authorize payment for specified services or populations and establish spending limits. CMS is also responsible for reviewing states’ reported expenditures against budgets in states’ planning documents to ensure that states do not exceed approved amounts.

A list of GAO reports related to these CMS oversight processes is included at the end of this report.

States’ Work Requirements Varied in Terms of Target Population, Required Activities, and Consequences of Non-Compliance

States took different approaches to designing work requirements under their Medicaid demonstrations. These requirements varied in terms of the beneficiary groups subject to the requirements; the required activities, such as frequency of required reporting; and the consequences beneficiaries face if they do not meet requirements.

Beneficiaries Subject to Work Requirements and Required Activities

In the nine states with approved work requirements as of May 2019, we found differences in the age and eligibility groups subject to work requirements, and, to a lesser extent, the number of hours of work required and frequency of required reporting to the state. For example:

Age and eligibility groups subject to work requirements. Four of these states received approval to apply the requirements to adults under the age of 50, similar to how certain work requirements are applied under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Among the other five states, approved work requirements apply to adults up to the age of 59 (Indiana and Utah), 62 (Michigan), and 64 (Kentucky and New Hampshire). States generally planned to apply the requirements to adults newly eligible under PPACA or a previous coverage expansion, but some states received approval to apply the requirements to additional eligibility groups, such as parents and caretakers of dependents.

Number of hours of work required and frequency of required reporting. Under approved demonstrations in seven states, Medicaid beneficiaries must complete 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities per month to comply with work requirements. Five states’ approved demonstrations require beneficiaries to report each month on their hours of work or other qualifying activities, using methods approved by the state, such as online or over the phone. (See table 1.)

We saw similar variation under the seven state applications that were pending as of May 2019.

All nine states with approved work requirements as of May 2019 exempted several categories of beneficiaries and counted a variety of activities as meeting the work requirements. For example, all nine states exempted from the work requirements people with disabilities, pregnant women, and those with certain health conditions, such as a serious mental illness. In addition, depending on the state, other groups were also exempted, such as beneficiaries who are homeless, survivors of domestic violence, and those enrolled in substance use treatment programs. States also counted activities other than work as meeting the work requirements, such as job training, volunteering, and caregiving for non-dependents. In addition to work requirements, eight of the nine states received approval under their demonstrations to implement other beneficiary requirements, such as requiring beneficiaries to have expenditure accounts. (See app. I for more information on these other beneficiary requirements.)

Beneficiary Consequences for Non-Compliance

The consequences Medicaid beneficiaries faced for non-compliance and the timing of the consequences varied across the nine states with approved work requirements. The consequences for non-compliance included coverage suspension and termination. For example, Arizona received approval to suspend beneficiaries’ coverage after 1 month of non-compliance. In contrast, Wisconsin will not take action until a beneficiary has been out of compliance for 4 years, at which time coverage will be terminated. Three states (Arkansas, Michigan, and Wisconsin) imposed or planned to impose a non-eligibility period after terminating a beneficiary’s enrollment. For example, under Arkansas’ demonstration, after 3 months of non-compliance, the beneficiary was not eligible to re-enroll until the next plan year, which began in January of each year. Thus, beneficiaries could be locked out of coverage for up to 9 months. (See table 2.) For states with pending applications, suspension or termination of coverage takes effect after 2 or 3 months of non- compliance.

For states that suspend coverage for beneficiaries, there are different conditions for coming into compliance and lifting the suspension. For example:

Arizona received approval to automatically reactivate an individual’s eligibility at the end of each 2-month suspension period.

In other states, such as Indiana, beneficiaries must notify the state that they have completed 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities in a calendar month, after which the state will reactivate eligibility beginning the following month. (See text box.)

Indiana’s Suspension Process for Non-Compliance with Medicaid Work Requirements At the end of each year, the state reviews beneficiaries’ activities related to work requirements. Beneficiaries must meet the required monthly hours 8 out of 12 months of the year to avoid a suspension of Medicaid coverage.

If coverage is suspended for not meeting work requirements, the suspension will start January 1 and could last up to 12 months. During a suspension, beneficiaries will not be able to access Medicaid coverage to receive health care.

Beneficiaries with suspended Medicaid coverage can reactivate coverage if they become medically frail; or employed, enrolled in school, or engaged in volunteering.

Beneficiaries must contact the state to reactivate coverage.

To prevent suspension from taking effect, two states (Kentucky and New Hampshire) require beneficiaries to make up required work hours that were not completed in order to maintain compliance with work requirements. For example, in Kentucky, if the beneficiary worked 60 hours in October (20 hours less than the required 80), the beneficiary must work 100 hours in November to avoid suspension of coverage in December.

Available Estimates of Costs to Implement Work Requirements Varied among Selected States, with the Majority of Costs Expected to Be Financed by Federal Dollars

Available estimates of the costs to implement Medicaid work requirements varied considerably among the five selected states, and these estimates did not account for all costs. These states estimated that federal funding would cover the majority of these costs, particularly costs to modify IT systems.

Selected States’ Estimates of Administrative Costs Associated with Work Requirements Ranged from Millions to Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

Selected states (Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin) reported estimates of the costs to implement work requirements that ranged from under $10 million in New Hampshire to over $250 million in Kentucky. These estimates—compiled by states and reported to us—did not include all planned costs. The estimates were based on information the states had readily available, such as the costs of contracted activities for IT systems and beneficiary outreach, and primarily reflect up-front costs. Four selected states (Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and New Hampshire) had begun implementing work requirements and making expenditures by the end of 2018. Together, these states reported to us having spent more than $129 million in total for implementation activities from the time the states submitted their demonstration applications through the end of 2018. (See table 3.)

Several factors may have contributed to the variation in the selected states’ estimated costs of administering work requirements, including planned IT system changes and the number of Medicaid beneficiaries subject to the work requirements.

IT system changes. Selected states planned distinct approaches to modify their IT systems in order to administer work requirements. For example: Indiana, which implemented work requirements by expanding on an existing work referral program, planned to leverage existing IT systems, making modifications expected to result in IT costs of $14.4 million over 4 years.

In contrast, Kentucky planned to develop new IT system capabilities to communicate, track, and verify information related to work requirements. Kentucky received approval to spend $220.9 million in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to do that and make changes needed to implement other beneficiary requirements in its demonstration.

Number of beneficiaries subject to requirements. The estimated cost of some activities to administer work requirements depended on the number of Medicaid beneficiaries subject to work requirements, which varied across selected states. For example:

Kentucky estimated 620,000 beneficiaries would be subject to work requirements—including those who may qualify for exemptions—and estimated costs of $15 million for fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to conduct beneficiary education, outreach, and customer service.

In contrast, Arkansas had fewer beneficiaries subject to work requirements (about 115,000 in February 2019, with about 100,000 of those eligible for exemptions) and estimated fewer outreach costs.

The state estimated $2.9 million in costs from July 2018 through June 2019 to conduct education and outreach.

As noted earlier, states’ available estimates did not include all expected Medicaid costs. For example, four of the five selected states planned to use MCOs or other health plans to help administer work requirements, but two of these four did not have estimates of the associated costs. Indiana and Kentucky estimated additional payments to MCOs—$20.7 million in Indiana to administer work requirements in 2019 and $50.7 million in Kentucky to administer its demonstration from July 2018 through June 2020. In contrast, officials in New Hampshire told us that no estimates were available. In Arkansas, where beneficiaries receive premium support to purchase coverage from qualified health plans on the state’s health insurance exchange, plans were instructed to include the costs of administering work requirements in the premiums, according to Arkansas officials. State officials and representatives from a qualified health plan we spoke with could not provide the amount that the state’s premium assistance costs increased as a result.

States’ estimates also did not include all ongoing costs that they expect to incur after the up-front costs and initial expenditures related to implementation of the work requirements. States had limited information about ongoing costs, but we collected some examples. For instance, New Hampshire provided estimated costs of $1.6 million to design and implement the evaluation of its demonstration, which all states are required to perform. In addition, officials or documents in each selected state acknowledged new staffing costs that may be ongoing, such as Indiana’s costs for five full-time employees to assist beneficiaries with suspended coverage to meet requirements or obtain exemptions.

Finally, states reported that administering Medicaid work requirements will increase certain non-Medicaid costs—costs that are not funded by federal Medicaid, but are borne by other federal and state agencies, stakeholders, or individuals. For instance, New Hampshire officials planned to use approximately $200,000 to $300,000 in non-Medicaid funds for six positions performing case management for workforce development. Similarly, in July 2017, Indiana estimated that providing beneficiaries with job skills training, job search assistance, and other services would cost $90 per month per beneficiary, although state officials said these costs were uncertain after learning they were not eligible for federal Medicaid funds. In addition, beneficiaries and entities other than states, such as community organizations, may incur costs related to the administration of work requirements that are not included in states’ estimates.

Selected States Estimated the Federal Government Would Pay the Majority of Administrative Costs Associated with Work Requirements

All five selected states expected to receive federal funds for the majority of estimated costs and expenditures (described previously) for implementing work requirements. For example, the four selected states that provided data on expenditures to administer work requirements through 2018 (Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and New Hampshire) expected the portion of those expenditures paid by the federal government to range from 82 percent in Indiana to 90 percent in New Hampshire and Kentucky. These effective matching rates exceed the 50 percent matching rate for general administrative costs, largely due to higher matching rates of 75 and 90 percent of applicable IT costs. For example, Kentucky received approval to spend $192.6 million in federal funds for its $220.9 million in expected IT costs over 2 years to implement work requirements and other beneficiary requirements, an effective match rate of 87 percent.

In addition to higher federal matching rates for IT costs, the selected states receive federal funds for the majority of MCO capitation payments, which the states planned to increase to pay MCOs’ costs to administer work requirements. Each of the three states that planned to use MCOs to administer work requirements planned to increase capitation payments in order to do so. For example, Indiana planned to increase capitation payments to MCOs by approximately 1 percent (or $20.7 million in 2019) to pay for a variety of ongoing activities to administer work requirements, including requiring MCOs to help beneficiaries report compliance, reporting beneficiaries who qualify for exemptions, and helping the state verify the accuracy of beneficiary reporting, according to state officials. The federal government pays at least 90 percent of capitation payments to MCOs to provide covered services to beneficiaries who are newly eligible under PPACA, the primary population subject to work requirements among the five selected states. Indiana and Kentucky also received approval to apply work requirements to other populations, and capitation payments for these other populations receive federal matching rates of 66 percent in Indiana and 72 percent in Kentucky in fiscal year 2019.

States’ approaches to implementing work requirements can affect the federal matching funds they receive. For example, Arkansas officials told us that the state decided to collect information on beneficiary compliance through an on-line portal—the initial cost of which received an effective federal matching rate of 87 percent, according to Arkansas. Officials told us that the state avoided having beneficiaries report compliance to staff— costs of which receive a 75 percent matching rate. However, after approximately 17,000 beneficiaries lost coverage due to non-compliance with work requirements, Arkansas revised its procedures to allow beneficiaries to report compliance to state staff over the phone.

Three of the five selected states sought to leverage other programs funded by the federal government to help implement work requirements or provide beneficiary supports, such as employment services. Kentucky officials reported piloting elements of Medicaid work requirements using its SNAP Employment and Training program. Similarly, Arkansas officials sought a waiver to be able to use TANF funds to provide employment services to individuals without children in order to serve Medicaid beneficiaries subject to work requirements. New Hampshire also used TANF funds to provide employment services to Medicaid beneficiaries who were also enrolled in TANF.

Weaknesses Exist in CMS’s Oversight of Administrative Costs of Demonstrations with Work Requirements

CMS does not consider administrative costs when approving any demonstrations—including those with work requirements—though these costs can be significant. The agency has recently taken steps to obtain more information about demonstration administrative costs. However, we identified various weaknesses in CMS’s oversight of administrative costs that could result in states receiving federal funds for costs to administer work requirements that are not allowable.

CMS’s Approval Process Does Not Take into Account How a Demonstration Will Affect Administrative Costs

CMS’s demonstration approval process does not take into account the extent to which demonstrations, including those establishing work requirements, will increase a state’s administrative costs. CMS policy does not require states to provide projections of administrative costs in their demonstration applications or include administrative costs in their demonstration cost projections used by CMS to assess budget neutrality. CMS officials explained that in the past demonstrations had generally not led to increases in administrative costs, and as such, the agency had not seen a need to separately consider these costs.

However, the officials told us and have acknowledged in approval letters for demonstrations with work requirements, that demonstrations may increase administrative costs. Kentucky provides an example of this, reporting to us estimated administrative costs of approximately $270 million—including about $200 million in federal funds—to implement the demonstration over 2 years. However, neither Kentucky nor the other four selected states provided estimates of their administrative costs in their applications to CMS, and CMS officials confirmed that no additional information on administrative costs was provided by the states while their demonstration applications were being reviewed.

By not considering administrative costs in its demonstration approval process, CMS’s actions are counter to two key objectives of the demonstration approval process: transparency and budget neutrality.

Transparency. CMS’s transparency requirements are aimed at ensuring that demonstration proposals provide sufficient information to ensure meaningful public input. However, CMS officials told us that they do not require the information states provide on the expected changes in demonstration expenditures in their applications to account for administrative costs. This information would likely have been of interest in our selected states, because public commenters in each state expressed concerns about the potential administrative costs of these demonstrations. In prior work, we reported on weaknesses in CMS’s policies for ensuring transparency in demonstration approvals.

Budget neutrality. The aim of CMS’s budget neutrality policy is to limit federal fiscal liability resulting from demonstrations, and CMS is responsible for determining that a demonstration will not increase federal Medicaid expenditures above what they would have been without the demonstration. However, CMS does not consider administrative costs when assessing budget neutrality. For three of our five selected states, the demonstration special terms and conditions specify that administrative costs will not be counted against the budget neutrality limit.

Even though demonstrations’ administrative costs can be significant, CMS officials said the agency has no plans to revise its approval process—either to (1) require states to provide information on expected administrative costs to CMS or the public, or to (2) account for these costs when the agency assesses whether a demonstration is budget neutral. CMS officials explained that the agency needs more experience with policies that require administrative changes under a demonstration before making any revisions to its processes. Without requiring states to submit projections of administrative costs in their demonstration applications, and by not considering the implications of these costs for federal spending, CMS puts its goals of transparency and budget neutrality at risk. This is inconsistent with federal internal control standards that call for agencies to identify, analyze, and respond to risks related to achieving program objectives.

CMS Has Taken Steps to Collect New Information on Administrative Costs, yet Risks May Remain of CMS Providing Federal Funds for Work Requirement Costs that Are Not Allowable

CMS recently implemented procedures that may provide additional information on demonstrations’ administrative costs. These included implementing new procedures to identify costs specific to demonstrations when approving federal matching funds for states’ planned IT costs and issuing guidance on monitoring and evaluating demonstrations. However, it is unclear whether these efforts will result in data that improve CMS’s oversight. (See table 4.)

In addition to these new initiatives, states’ quarterly expenditure reports provide CMS with some information on their demonstration administrative costs, but this information also has limitations. States are required to separately track and report administrative expenditures attributable to their demonstrations in their quarterly expenditure reports. However, CMS officials told us that states typically use the same resources, such as staff, to administer their demonstrations and their regular Medicaid program, which can affect the demonstration costs states report. We found that about a quarter of states with demonstration expenditures in fiscal year 2017 reported no administrative expenditures related to their demonstrations. CMS officials acknowledged that the data states submit in their quarterly expenditure reports may not provide a meaningful measure of states’ demonstration-related administrative costs.

CMS’s recently implemented procedures may provide more information on the amounts states are spending on demonstration administrative costs, but they do not address weaknesses we found in CMS’s oversight of administrative costs. In four of the five selected states, we identified examples of states requesting federal matching funds for costs to administer work requirements that do not appear to be allowable, or at higher matching rates than appropriate under CMS guidance. In some cases, states received CMS approval for planned administrative costs while in others it was unclear whether CMS would have identified the issues through their oversight procedures. Areas of risk included funds for planned IT costs, funds for beneficiary supports, and funds provided under managed care contracts.

Federal funds for planned IT costs that may not be allowable or eligible for higher matching rates. Three of our five selected states requested and received funding approval for planned IT costs to implement their demonstrations that did not appear to be allowable or at higher matching rates than appropriate under CMS guidance.

Kentucky and Indiana requested and received funding approval for planned IT costs that do not appear to be allowable under CMS guidance. Kentucky requested and received CMS approval for funds (at the 90 percent federal matching rate) for a contract that included activities to assist Medicaid beneficiaries obtain employment. (See text box.) However, CMS’s 2018 guidance states that Medicaid funding is not available to finance beneficiary supports, such as job training or other employment services. CMS officials said that the agency did not review the contract and approved the request based on Kentucky’s assertion that these costs were specific to technology. Indiana received approval to receive IT funds to develop a website that provides beneficiaries access to information and tools to seek, acquire, and retain employment, costs that also appear related to beneficiary supports.

Kentucky Received Approval of Information Technology Funding for Activities Aimed at Helping Beneficiaries Obtain Employment In 2018, in an update to its information technology budget request, Kentucky included costs for a contract with the state’s Department of Workforce Services to assist Medicaid beneficiaries in developing skills needed to obtain and retain employment. The contracted services included activities such as assessing beneficiaries’ eligibility for non-Medicaid programs, providing services to beneficiaries at career assistance centers, and making referrals to other agencies and programs.

Kentucky budgeted $21 million for this contract at a 90 percent federal matching rate ($18.9 million in federal funds) for fiscal year 2019 and another $21 million at a 75 percent matching rate ($15.8 million in federal funds) for fiscal year 2020. CMS approved Kentucky’s budget request without reviewing the contract.

Medicaid Services. | GAO-20-149.

Indiana and New Hampshire received funding approval for federal IT funds at the 90 percent matching rate for costs that do not appear eligible for that rate. In 2018, CMS approved Indiana’s request for a 90 percent match rate to pay $500,000 in consulting fees to develop work requirement policies, despite CMS guidance indicating that policy research and development activities should be matched at 50 percent. New Hampshire requested and received CMS approval in 2018 for federal funds at a 90 percent matching rate for $180,000 in costs to educate beneficiaries about work requirements, including costs to place outreach calls through an existing contracted call center. CMS guidance indicates that these costs should receive funding at a lower matching rate.

Federal funds for beneficiary supports that are not allowable. Wisconsin requested and planned to seek federal funds for beneficiary support costs that are not allowable until our work identified the issue for CMS. Wisconsin officials told us that it was their understanding during the planning phase of the demonstration that administrative costs incurred by state programs providing such services were eligible for federal matching funds. State officials said that CMS officials told them on multiple occasions that the state could receive a 50 percent federal match for these costs. Based on this, the state requested budget authority from its legislature for $51.2 million for employment and training services, of which it anticipated $23.1 million would come from federal Medicaid funds. CMS officials told us that such costs are not eligible for federal matching funds and maintained that the agency’s guidance—which indicates that beneficiary support costs are not eligible for federal matching funds—was clear. In response to our inquiries, the agency contacted the state in April 2019 and clarified this with officials.

Federal funds for costs to administer work requirements provided through managed care contracts, which may not be allowable. As noted earlier, three of the five selected states (Indiana, Kentucky, and New Hampshire) required or planned to require MCOs to perform a number of activities to implement work requirements. These activities included, for example, providing information on options to satisfy work requirements, assisting beneficiaries with reporting compliance with work requirements, and providing referrals to state work requirement resources. To fund these activities, officials in these states said that they plan to increase their capitation payments. States will receive at least a 90 percent federal matching rate for most of these payments, because the payments are largely for beneficiaries who are newly eligible under PPACA. It is unclear, however, whether including these activities in capitation payments is allowable. CMS regulations provide that states may only include administrative costs that are related to the provision of covered health care services in their MCO capitation payments. In addition, CMS guidance notes that implementing work requirements will not change the types of expenditures that are allowable. We provided CMS with specific examples of activities states delegated or planned to delegate to MCOs and asked if these types of activities met CMS’s criteria to be included under capitation payments. CMS officials told us that federal review of the related managed care contracts in Indiana and New Hampshire had not been completed as of June 2019 and could not make a definitive statement.

While CMS guidance requires states to carry out a range of activities to implement work requirements—some of which are not eligible for federal Medicaid funds—agency officials told us that CMS has not updated any procedures for the various reviewers of these costs. Further, CMS has not completed a risk assessment to determine whether current procedures for overseeing administrative costs are sufficient, and agency officials told us that there were no plans to do so. According to federal internal control standards, agencies should identify, analyze, and respond to risks related to achieving program objectives (in this case, ensuring that administrative expenditures under demonstrations are allowable and matched at the correct rate). Without identifying, assessing, and addressing the risks posed by demonstrations that may increase administrative costs, CMS may be providing federal funds for costs that are not allowed or at inappropriately high matching rates.

Conclusions

A third of states have sought approval to implement work requirements in their Medicaid programs. CMS has acknowledged that demonstrations, including those with work requirements, may increase Medicaid administrative costs—and therefore overall Medicaid spending. Yet, CMS is not factoring these costs into its approval decisions, which is counter to the agency’s goals of transparency and budget neutrality. Further, the agency has not taken steps to assess and respond to risks of federal funds being spent for administrative costs that are not allowable or matched at rates higher than what is appropriate, risks we found in four of the five demonstrations we reviewed. While administrative costs are a relatively small portion of states’ Medicaid spending, the weaknesses in CMS’s oversight of these costs could take on increased importance as more states seek and receive approval to implement work requirements.

Recommendation for Executive Action

We are making the following three recommendations to CMS: The Administrator of CMS should require states to submit and make public projections of administrative costs when seeking approval of demonstrations, including those with work requirements and all other demonstrations. (Recommendation 1)

The Administrator of CMS should account for the administrative costs of demonstrations, including those with work requirements and all other demonstrations, when assessing whether demonstrations are budget neutral. (Recommendation 2)

The Administrator of CMS should assess the risks of providing federal funds for costs to administer work requirements that are not allowable and should respond to risks by improving oversight procedures, as warranted. This assessment should consider risks related to costs for information systems, beneficiary supports, and managed care. (Recommendation 3)

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report to HHS for comments and its comments are reproduced in appendix II. HHS also provided us with technical comments, which we incorporated in the report as appropriate. HHS did not concur with our recommendations. In general, HHS commented that it expects administrative costs to represent a relatively small proportion of total Medicaid spending and that its current approach to overseeing administrative costs—including those incurred under Medicaid demonstrations—is appropriate given the level of financial risk. HHS commented that administrative costs were approximately 5 percent of Medicaid expenditures. While these cost may represent a relatively small share of total spending, CMS projected them to be $18 billion in federal funds in fiscal year 2019—and this does not include all administrative spending. In particular, it does not include amounts paid to MCOs for administrative costs, which are likely considerable given that managed care payments now represent about half of all Medicaid spending. Further, demonstrations may represent a heightened financial risk given our finding that they can result in additional administrative costs that would not otherwise occur.

Regarding our first recommendation to require states to submit and make public projections of administrative costs, HHS commented that its experience suggests that demonstration administrative costs will be a relatively small portion of total costs and therefore HHS believes making information about these costs available would provide stakeholders little to no value. As noted, Medicaid is a significant component of federal and state budgets. In each of the five states we reviewed, public commenters expressed concerns about the potential administrative costs of Medicaid demonstrations with work requirements, suggesting stakeholders would value information about these costs. We maintain that requiring states to make public information about administrative costs would help to ensure that demonstration proposals provide sufficient information to ensure meaningful public input.

Regarding our second recommendation to account for administrative costs when assessing whether demonstrations are budget neutral, HHS again commented that its experience suggests that demonstration administrative costs will be a relatively small portion of total costs and that it believed that its current approach is appropriate for the level of financial risk. However, we found that demonstration administrative costs could be significant and HHS’s current policy of not considering these costs in its assessments of budget neutrality could increase federal fiscal liability. For example, in Kentucky, we found estimated administrative costs for implementing the demonstration exceeded $270 million over about 2 years. We maintain that including administrative costs in its assessments will help HHS ensure that demonstrations are budget neutral.

Regarding our third recommendation to assess and respond to risks of providing federal funds for costs to administer work requirements that are not allowable, HHS commented that (1) all states’ requests for federal Medicaid funding are subject to the same federal regulations and requirements; (2) the expenditures reported by states to GAO had not been reviewed against federal requirements or certified by states to be accurate and permissible; and (3) HHS believes its existing approach is appropriate for the low level of risk that administrative expenditures represent. Our findings indicate that CMS’s oversight procedures—which are designed to prevent state spending on costs that do not meet federal requirements—have vulnerabilities, particularly given the types of administrative activities associated with work requirements. Four of the five states we reviewed were planning to seek federal funds for costs (1) that did not appear allowable, or (2) at higher matching rates than appear appropriate, and three states succeeded in gaining CMS approval to do so. We agree with HHS that CMS may also identify inappropriate expenditures during its reviews of state-reported expenditures. However, our past work has identified weaknesses in that review process. In 2018, we reported that CMS officials indicated that resource constraints have limited the agency’s ability to target risk during such reviews, potentially allowing errors to go undetected. Finally, the basis for HHS’s conclusion that its current approach is appropriate for the risks posed by these administrative expenditures is unclear. As we note in our report, CMS officials told us that they had not assessed whether current procedures sufficiently address risks posed by administrative costs for work requirements and had no plans to do so. We maintain that assessing these risks of providing federal funds for costs that are not allowable and improving oversight, as warranted, would help HHS to ensure the integrity of the Medicaid program.

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days from the report date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the appropriate congressional committees, and other interested parties. In addition, this report is available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-7144 or yocomc@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Major contributors to this report are listed in appendix III.

Appendix I: Other Beneficiary Requirements in States with Approved Medicaid Work Requirements

Eight of the nine states that received approval for work requirements, as of May 2019, also received approval under their demonstrations for other beneficiary requirements, such as requiring beneficiaries to have expenditure accounts. Some of these beneficiary requirements preceded work requirements, while others were newly introduced with the work requirements. For example, Kentucky was developing and implementing work requirements at the same time as other beneficiary requirements, such as the requirement for beneficiaries to have two expenditure accounts and make premium payments. (See table 5.)

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, Susan Barnidge (Assistant Director), Russell Voth (Analyst in Charge), Linda McIver, and Matt Nattinger made key contributions to this report. Also contributing were Giselle Hicks, Drew Long, Ethiene Salgado-Rodriguez, and Emily Wilson Schwark.

Related GAO Reports

Medicaid Demonstrations: Approvals of Major Changes Need Increased Transparency. GAO-19-315. Washington, D.C.: April 17, 2019.

Medicaid: CMS Needs to Better Target Risks to Improve Oversight of Expenditures. GAO-18-564. Washington, D.C.: August 6, 2018.

Medicaid Demonstrations: Evaluations Yielded Limited Results, Underscoring Need for Changes to Federal Policies and Procedures. GAO-18-220. Washington, D.C.: January 19, 2018.

Medicaid Demonstrations: Federal Action Needed to Improve Oversight of Spending. GAO-17-312. Washington, D.C.: April 3, 2017.

Medicaid: Federal Funds Aid Eligibility IT System Changes, but Implementation Challenges Persist. GAO-15-169. Washington, D.C.: December 12, 2014.

Medicaid Demonstration Waivers: Approval Process Raises Cost Concerns and Lacks Transparency. GAO-13-384. Washington, D.C.: June 25, 2013.

Medicaid Demonstration Waivers: Recent HHS Approvals Continue to Raise Cost and Oversight Concerns. GAO-08-87. Washington, D.C.: January 31, 2008.