Medicaid advisory committee again delayed over concerns about federal law compliance

The next meeting of a committee tasked with advising the Mississippi Division of Medicaid will be delayed further while the agency sorts out a possible discrepancy between state law and new federal regulations, despite the fact that the state is not required to comply with the new rules until July of next year.

The Division of Medicaid requested an official opinion on the conflicting federal and state guidelines for committee appointments from the Attorney General’s office on Nov. 1, according to the agency’s website. The division did not respond to Mississippi Today’s questions about why it sought the opinion.

The committee, made up of doctors and other Medicaid stakeholders, has not met statutory requirements for years. It has not produced mandatory annual reports since 2018 and has not held its required quarterly meetings since December 2023. 

Pediatrician Dr. David Reeves chaired the committee from July 2021 to the end of last year. No one told him the committee needed to produce annual reports, and when he followed up about a special meeting planned for January of this year, agency officials told him the committee’s term had expired, Reeves told Mississippi Today.

After committee members at the December 2023 meeting made a motion to recommend a policy that would allow eligible low-income pregnant women to get prenatal care earlier, then-Medicaid Executive Director Drew Snyder and committee member and Gulfport Memorial President and CEO Kent Nicaud said the agency had not had enough time to study the issue and suggested the committee reconvene in January. 

But Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg and chair of the House Medicaid committee, had asked committee members and the Division of Medicaid to offer an opinion on the policy in advance of the 2024 legislative session in August 2023, Mississippi Today reported. 

The special meeting called for January never happened. The Legislature eventually passed the policy, called presumptive eligibility for pregnant women, in late February without feedback from the committee. 

Committee meetings this year were first stalled because appointments were not finalized until August of this year. Then, the agency canceled an October meeting without rescheduling it to give the division time to transition to new leadership after former Executive Director Drew Snyder announced his resignation. 

New federal regulations that require members of the Medicaid Advisory Committee – formerly known as the Medical Care Advisory Committee – to be selected by the director of the Division of Medicaid went into effect in July. But, the new rules are not applicable until 2025 to give states time to make changes.

In contrast, Mississippi law states that at least 11 committee members be appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and Speaker of the House. Members serve four-year terms, concurrent with legislators.

“There is reasonable concern that some or all of the current Committee appointments may not be valid because members were appointed by state officials pursuant to Mississippi statute that may be contrary to federal regulation,” said Deputy Administrator of Health Services Tracy Buchannan in a letter to appointed committee members Nov. 1. 

The new federal policy seeks to heighten the role that beneficiaries play in shaping Medicaid programs and policy by mandating the creation of a Beneficiary Advisory Council composed of Medicaid members, their families and caregivers. Some of the members will serve on the Medicaid Advisory Committee. 

Mississippi Medicaid spokesperson Matt Westerfield previously told Mississippi Today the Division of Medicaid expects to begin selecting members for the council in coming months.

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