By Michael P. Norton State House News Service
With federal funds at risk of expiring under an agreement forged by the former Patrick administration, the Obama administration has approved a five-year, $52.5 billion Medicaid waiver deal for Massachusetts.The waiver deal was announced Friday afternoon by Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, which said the arrangement would facilitate a $1.8 billion effort to transition toward accountable care organization (ACO) models of care and investments in behavioral health and long-term care services. An ACO pilot program could launch in December.The administration signaled that the waiver, which is effective on July 1, 2017, would spare the state from losing $1 billion a year in federal funds. The deal also sustains $6 billion of safety net care payments over five years to hospitals that serve the uninsured and for subsidies to assist those enrolled in Health Connector plans. The number of hospitals eligible for reimbursements for “uncompensated care” expands to 15 …
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