JFAC corrects Health & Welfare staffing cut, extends Medicaid managed-care deadline

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted to correct an administrative staffing error and to extend a Medicaid deadline during its March 23 meeting.

Alex Williamson, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee that an earlier action had overstated the number of full-time positions cut in the Division of Licensing and Certification. "The funding for the positions is still in the base budget," Williamson said, explaining that the committee had accidentally recorded a reduction of five FTP when the agency’s plan reflected only a three-FTP reduction. The committee approved a motion to add two FTP back for FY2027; the motion carried with the affirmative vote of a majority of both committees.

Williamson also briefed members on delays in the statewide move to comprehensive managed care for Medicaid. She said procurement of a new Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and related litigation slowed the department’s timetable; the agency now anticipates a January 2030 go-live. Because of those delays, the department requested—and the committee adopted—language extending the deadline for submitting state-plan amendments and waivers to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from July 1, 2026, to 2027.

Committee members asked whether outstanding court matters required the deadline change. Williamson said the issue causing the delay "has been resolved" sufficiently for the department to proceed with the extended timeline, though several members noted the legal matters were still being monitored. The extension language passed with recorded majorities in both chambers and will carry a do-pass recommendation to the full legislature.

What happens next: The department will continue procurement and legal work and prepare the state-plan and waiver materials under the new timeline; committee staff indicated a Medicaid deputy director is expected to give a status update to the Medicaid review panel soon.