The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an
informational bulletin announcing that it will not take enforcement action against states with respect to the Fee-For-Service grievance system requirements included within the Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services final rule (Access Rule).
The Access Rule requires states to have such systems in place by July 9, 2026. However, CMS will now delay its enforcement of those requirements until December 31, 2027. CMS states that it will use this time to “consider proposing changes to these requirements in future notice-and-comment rulemaking.”
According to CMS, this delayed enforcement will also provide states more time to integrate their electronic grievance systems into their incident management systems. Additionally, it will allow them to focus more resources toward implementation of the provisions of last year’s budget reconciliation legislation.
For additional information about the Access Rule, please visit
ANCOR’s Access Rule Resource Center as well as our implementation
timeline of the requirements of both the Access Rule as well as the budget reconciliation law.
