The Courts

New Hampshire wants a federal judge to let the state help defend CMS’ approval of its plan to implement Medicaid work requirements.

Vermont is freezing approvals of new association health plans (AHPs) and barring existing plans from enrolling new members or marketing their products following a federal judge’s March 28 decision that invalidated key parts of the Trump administration’s AHP rule and remanded the regulation back to the Department of Labor.

Leading consumer advocacy groups say the public health stakes are high in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case heard by the Supreme Court this week, warning in an amicus brief that a decision to tighten restrictions on what information can be released would virtually dry up data the groups have obtained from FDA.

A federal appeals court has agreed to expedite its consideration of the two cases challenging the legality of Medicaid work requirements after CMS asked that the cases be accelerated.

CMS is seeking an accelerated appeal in the litigation over Medicaid work requirements because, according to the agency, a district judge’s recent rulings that invalidated work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky will cause “significant disruption to the detriment of the states and the federal government.”

CMS on Wednesday (April 10) appealed a pair of judicial decisions that blocked Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky.

House Democrats put Attorney General William Barr on the hot-seat several times Tuesday over the administration’s switch of positions in Texas v. Azar, first in a letter demanding Barr fully explain the reasoning behind the move, provide access to any related documents and make key Justice Department lawyers available for questioning by April 22, and then during Barr’s appearance at an appropriations hearing.

The Republican attorneys general seeking to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act have reversed course and no longer oppose a July oral argument date in the Texas v. Azar appeal now that the Trump administration has agreed the ACA should be scrapped and has requested a hearing for the week of July 8, which suggests DOJ may be taking the reins from the appellees even though the government formally remains an appellant in the high-profile case.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration is consulting with the Justice Department on whether to appeal a federal court ruling that shot down key parts of the administration’s final rule expanding access to association health plans.