Cheryl Roberts, director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), told senators DMAS’s current appropriations run roughly $24 billion and reported about 1.9 million Medicaid enrollees. She described the agency’s forecasting work, contracting needs and programmatic requests in the governor’s budget.

“We are one of the few states that had no CMS penalties,” Roberts said, stressing the agency’s completion of most unwinding tasks and thanking local departments and agency staff.

DMAS brief highlights

- Size and scope: DMAS stated its current appropriations are about $24 billion, covering about 1.9 million members; the agency said federal match rates and forecasting complexity complicate rate setting.

- Managed‑care procurement and capitation rates: Roberts said a procurement protest and related litigation followed a notice of intent to award; DMAS posted a notice to award and a public‑interest justification in December and has begun meeting with plans while litigation continues. DMAS also engaged actuaries (Mercer) to analyze capitation rate issues raised by plans ahead of final decisions.

- Waivers and implementation: DMAS described rapid work to secure and implement a new SMI waiver (submitted and accepted by CMS on a fast timeline) and noted other CMS eligibility and reporting requirements that will require system and staffing investments.

- Maternal health and newborn automation: Roberts highlighted Saturday clinic hours and extended hours in some hospital systems to increase access for pregnant and postpartum women, an aspirin‑education pilot with VDH (Ask About Aspirin) to address cardiovascular drivers of maternal mortality, and automation steps to enroll newborns into managed care quickly.

- Technical and contract asks: DMAS requested additional FTEs for quality/compliance tied to DD waiver expansion, language authority to accelerate rate/regulatory implementation, and user‑identity verification and procurement staff to reduce backlogs and missed federal deadlines.

Why it matters: DMAS leads Medicaid eligibility and financing; its procurement and rate decisions affect managed‑care plans, provider reimbursement and the overall state fiscal forecast. Roberts said national trends show retained populations after unwinding are sicker, which could raise plan costs and prompt rate adjustments.