INSURING THE POOR THROUGH SECTION-1115 MEDICAID WAIVERS

With the demise of health care reform at the national level, much of t he attention has shifted to state-level efforts. Recently, several sta tes have begun looking to the Medicaid program as a way to solve their health care problems, A principal way in which states are implementin g health care reform is through the Section 1115 research and demonstr ation Medicaid waiver program. The 1115 waiver authority provides stat es considerable flexibility to restructure their Medicaid programs to offer health care to new populations and thus has great potential for covering large segments of the uninsured population. While it shows gr eat promise, however, there are many obstacles states must overcome bo th in implementing and in maintaining an 1115 program.