State gets Medicaid waiver for parents' health insurance

Minnesota has received a federal waiver that will keep 18,000 parents eligible for health insurance.

At issue is Medicaid coverage for families who had received insurance supplemented by the state children's health insurance program or S-CHIP.

In August, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services changed its agreement with the state that would have resulted in a loss of over $135 million in federal MinnesotaCare funding for three years.

The agreement avoids any loss of coverage, according to a statement from Gov. Pawlenty's office. Under the waiver, those low income parents will be funded with federal Medicaid funds rather than S-CHIP money. In exchange, the state will use SCHIP funding for MinnesotaCare coverage for some children under age 19.

The waiver is good June 30, 2011.

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