Senate Bill 408 Summary

• Creates a Joint Legislative Committee on Medicaid Rate Modernization and Savings to oversee DHHS Medicaid modernization efforts and vote on recommendations by December 15, 2022.

• Directs DHHS to develop a Medicaid Modernization Plan by December 15, 2022 that includes expanding Medicaid eligibility under federal law, proposing hospital assessments and health system assessments to fund coverage, investing $1 billion in nonrecurring funds for opioid and mental health crisis response, and increasing access to preventive and rural healthcare.

• Establishes the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund to deposit federal Medicaid matching funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, with at least $1 billion designated for mental health and substance abuse programs.

• Creates health system assessments on public and private acute care hospitals to fund the nonfederal share of costs for newly eligible Medicaid beneficiaries, subject to offsets from tax revenues and intergovernmental transfers.

• Directs the Department of Commerce to develop a seamless statewide workforce development plan by March 1, 2023 in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, and requires DHHS to create referral plans connecting Medicaid beneficiaries to workforce services.