On April 27th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services (Access Rule) to improve access to, and quality of, Medicaid services. The proposed Access Rule makes significant improvements and strengthens many aspects of Medicaid HCBS, including the direct care workforce, health and safety protections, quality of services, and state accountability and transparency, by introducing new requirements in each of these areas. The Autism Society and the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities published a toolkit to help you understand the Access Rule.
The proposed rule applies to all Medicaid services, including home and community-based services (HCBS) that are vital to people with developmental disabilities, including Autism. This means that input from people with disabilities is critical. Comments must be received by July 3, 2023. You can use this action alert to easily comment on the rule. Please follow the guidelines and edit the comments to reflect your personal stories.