COVID-19 Update: Medicaid Waiver Application
April 14, 2020
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—In addition to previous emergency measures taken by the Ohio Department of Medicaid to help increase access to healthcare for millions of Ohioans, Governor DeWine announced today that his administration is submitting its first waiver application to the federal government, known as 1135 or Appendix K, to provide the needed flexibility to address this crisis.
This waiver will allow Ohio to:
- Bolster the use of telehealth and other technology for health assessments and care planning;
- Waive signature requirements for a variety of providers to ensure safe distancing without compromising access to care;
- Ease obstacles to access nursing home care;
- Allow services to be provided at alternative locations; and
- Remove staffing-level requirements to give providers more flexibility.
“Removing restrictions like these during this pandemic will allow health care workers to focus on meeting the needs of Ohioans,” said Governor DeWine.
Upon approval, the waiver will be retroactively applied from March 1, 2020.
CURRENT OHIO DATA:
There are 7,280 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 324 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 2,156 people have been hospitalized, including 654 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today’s full update, including versions with foreign language closed captioning, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel’s YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH