California and Texas: Section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waivers Compared

This fact sheet compares and contrasts key provisions of the California and Texas Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers. The Texas waiver, approved in December 2011, is modeled, in part, on the California waiver, which has been underway in that state since November 2010. Both waivers affect hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries, involve billions of federal Medicaid matching funds, and are designed, in part, to promote changes in the health care delivery system that will result in better care for individuals, better population health, and reductions in costs through system improvements. They have a number of key similarities and differences as summarized in the side-by-side table within this fact sheet. These 5-year demonstrations are approved under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, which authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive certain federal Medicaid requirements to enable states to conduct demonstrations with federal Medicaid funds.

Fact Sheet (.pdf)