What is the “non-categorical waiver” in the MaineCare program?
In the fall of 2002, Maine was granted a section 1115 waiver from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to expand MaineCare eligibility to non-disabled childless adults, aged 21 to 64, living below the federal poverty level. Because childless adults do not fit into an explicit Medicaid category (such as “disabled”, “parent with child,” “child” or “aged”), they require a federal waiver in order for Maine to cover them in the Medicaid program. This is why they are often called “non-categorical”. A section 1115 waiver allows the state to continue to receive federal matching funds to pay for extensions of eligibility or covered services that would not be otherwise allowable under the Medicaid statute. For this waiver population, as for most Medicaid populations, Maine receives roughly $2 federal matching dollars for each state dollar it expends. However, to obtain this section 1115 waiver, Maine had to agree with the federal government that all expenditures under the waive
