Medicaid Program; Reassignment of Medicaid Provider Claims

This final rule removes the regulatory text that allows a state to make Medicaid payments to third parties on behalf of an individual provider for benefits such as health insurance, skills training, and other benefits customary for employees. We have concluded that this provision is neither explicitly nor implicitly authorized by the statute, which identifies the only permissible exceptions to the rule that only a provider may receive Medicaid payments. As we noted in our prior rulemaking, section 1902(a)(32) of the Social Security Act (the Act) provides for a number of exceptions to the direct payment requirement, but it does not authorize the agency to create new exceptions.