CFR > Title 42 - Public Health > CHAPTER IV—CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES > SUBCHAPTER C—MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (parts 430 to 456) > PART 438—MANAGED CARE > SUBPART B—State Responsibilities (§438.50 to §438.66) > 438.50—State Plan requirements.

438.50—State Plan requirements.

(a) General rule. A State plan that requires Medicaid recipients to enroll in managed care entities must comply with the provisions of this section, except when the State imposes the requirement—
(1) As part of a demonstration project under section 1115 of the Act; or
(2) Under a waiver granted under section 1915(b) of the Act.
(b) State plan information. The plan must specify—
(1) The types of entities with which the State contracts;
(2) The payment method it uses (for example, whether fee-for-service or capitation);
(3) Whether it contracts on a comprehensive risk basis; and
(4) The process the State uses to involve the public in both design and initial implementation of the program and the methods it uses to ensure ongoing public involvement once the State plan has been implemented.
(c) State plan assurances. The plan must provide assurances that the State meets applicable requirements of the following statute and regulations:
(1) Section 1903(m) of the Act, for MCOs and MCO contracts.
(2) Section 1905(t) of the Act, for PCCMs and PCCM contracts.
(3) Section 1932(a)(1)(A) of the Act, for the State's option to limit freedom of choice by requiring recipients to receive their benefits through managed care entities.
(4) This part, for MCOs and PCCMs.
(5) Part 434 of this chapter, for all contracts.
(6) Section 438.6(c), for payments under any risk contracts, and § 447.362 of this chapter for payments under any nonrisk contracts.
(d) Limitations on enrollment. The State must provide assurances that, in implementing the State plan managed care option, it will not require the following groups to enroll in an MCO or PCCM:
(1) Recipients who are also eligible for Medicare.
(2) Indians who are members of Federally recognized tribes, except when the MCO or PCCM is—
(i) The Indian Health Service; or
(ii) An Indian health program or Urban Indian program operated by a tribe or tribal organization under a contract, grant, cooperative agreement or compact with the Indian Health Service.
(3) Children under 19 years of age who are—
(i) Eligible for SSI under title XVI;
(ii) Eligible under section 1902(e)(3) of the Act;
(iii) In foster care or other out-of-home placement;
(iv) Receiving foster care or adoption assistance; or
(v) Receiving services through a family-centered, community-based, coordinated care system that receives grant funds under section 501(a)(1)(D) of title V, and is defined by the State in terms of either program participation or special health care needs.
(e) Priority for enrollment. The State must have an enrollment system under which recipients already enrolled in an MCO or PCCM are given priority to continue that enrollment if the MCO or PCCM does not have the capacity to accept all those seeking enrollment under the program.
(f) Enrollment by default. (1) For recipients who do not choose an MCO or PCCM during their enrollment period, the State must have a default enrollment process for assigning those recipients to contracting MCOs and PCCMs.
(2) The process must seek to preserve existing provider-recipient relationships and relationships with providers that have traditionally served Medicaid recipients. If that is not possible, the State must distribute the recipients equitably among qualified MCOs and PCCMs available to enroll them, excluding those that are subject to the intermediate sanction described in § 438.702(a)(4).
(3) An “existing provider-recipient relationship” is one in which the provider was the main source of Medicaid services for the recipient during the previous year. This may be established through State records of previous managed care enrollment or fee-for-service experience, or through contact with the recipient.
(4) A provider is considered to have “traditionally served” Medicaid recipients if it has experience in serving the Medicaid population.