Senate Democrats Urge CMS to Tighten Rules on Eligibility Vendors
Senators Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, and Raphael Warnock released recommendations urging CMS to impose stricter standards on contractors like Deloitte, General Dynamics Information Technology, Gainwell Technologies, and Conduent that build and run Medicaid eligibility systems. The report follows a year-long inquiry finding these systems have been plagued by errors causing eligible people to lose coverage. Recommendations include mandatory contract standards tied to federal funding, public disclosure of contracts and contract amendments, and public reporting of vendor performance data and change orders. The senators warn new work requirements and eligibility restrictions under recent federal law will strain these already troubled systems, though their proposals face long odds under Republican control of Congress and CMS.