Medicaid

The new director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services touted CMS’ commitment to work requirements in Medicaid in a speech Wednesday (Nov. 14), and said the agency is seeing “exciting results.”

CMS will give states more leeway to cover inpatient treatment for serious mental illnesses, just as the agency has been doing for inpatient treatment of substance use disorders, HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday (Nov. 13).

Dozens of academics in public health and health law told a federal judge that CMS misrepresented studies on the relationship between work and health when the agency approved Arkansas’ controversial program of Medicaid work requirements.

Rep. Anna Eshoo announced Friday (Nov. 9) her bid to chair the House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee, which is expected to be a key position given Democrats’ campaign promises to work on health care policies and control drug prices.

HHS and CMS should instruct Arkansas to temporarily stop kicking people off Medicaid for failing to comply with the state’s controversial new work requirement program, the federal advisory commission on Medicaid told HHS Secretary Alex Azar in a letter Thursday (Nov. 8).

CMS proposed a rule that aims to better ensure consumers are not dually enrolled in exchange and other public coverage, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Basic Health Plan.

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday (Nov. 6) finished its review of the Trump administration's proposed revamp of Medicaid managed care regulations, which has been in the works since shortly after President Trump took office.

Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah chose Tuesday (Nov. 6) to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, but voters in Montana rejected a ballot initiative that would have made that state’s Medicaid expansion permanent.

Voters in four crimson-red states could expand Medicaid eligibility to more than 300,000 people on Tuesday (Nov. 6) in ballot referendums designed to circumvent years of opposition from conservative elected officials in those states.