News Release

HHS Grants Medical Care Payments for Evacuees in Alabama

State Made Whole for Costs Now, Including Medicaid and Uncompensated Care

Alabama will get new immediate support for the medical care provided to Hurricane Katrina evacuees, including money for uncompensated care, under an agreement with the federal government. The agreement makes it easier for eligible evacuees to receive services through the state�s Medicaid and State Children�s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP), HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today.

�Alabama was not only hit hard by Katrina, it is also providing refuge to people whose homes and jobs were lost in other hurricane stricken states� Secretary Leavitt said. �Today�s agreement implements the President�s vision to ensure that Alabama and its residents will get the help they need in the wake of this disaster, including help with providing needed medical care.�

�Today�s action makes it easier for people to get access to the health care they need right now, without the delay and paperwork of setting up new kinds of programs,� said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees Medicaid and SCHIP. �This waiver also supports innovative ways to provided needed care that differ from standard approaches in Medicaid, including expanded community-based health care centers, mobile units for providing basic care at convenient locations for evacuees and new referral networks, and care provided by health professionals who may not participate in the Medicaid program.�

Last week, Secretary Leavitt granted a similar waiver to Texas and wrote other states outlining a model waiver agreement for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The provisions in the model waiver closely reflect those in the waiver approved for Alabama. CMS is working closely with a number of other states seeking this special hurricane disaster relief.

The agreement with Alabama would enable evacuees who have little ability to pay for care to get coverage through Medicaid or SCHIP for up to five months, even if they do not have the usual documentation. This emergency Section 1115 waiver developed by HHS to ensure that evacuees in need of medical care have immediate access to it.

Under the waiver, needed medical services will be delivered to evacuees who are children up to age 19 and their parents, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, low-income Medicare beneficiaries and those who need long-term care and meet certain income requirements. Evacuees will be asked to complete a simplified application form declaring their income and assets, if any.

Evacuees who receive services through the state�s Medicaid or SCHIP programs will receive the standard program benefit package. Under the terms of today�s waiver, Alabama will not charge evacuees any out-of-pocket costs for their health care.

The agreement also would create an uncompensated care pool to help compensate physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers who provide needed medical treatment to evacuees who do not currently have health insurance and are ineligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. The state will also work to identify ways to assist these individuals in obtaining private insurance, as they transition from evacuee status to getting a job and a home.

�We are working with states to build on this program quickly, to provide immediate and effective relief for evacuee health costs,� said Dr. McClellan. �We will provide similar support to any other state that is hosting a significant number of evacuees.�