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A Missouri judge blocked Medicaid expansion in the state on Wednesday, saying the ballot initiative that voters approved last year was unconstitutional. The court action stems from Republican Gov. Mike Parson's decision last month not to expand Medicaid to roughly 275,000 low-income adults on July 1 because lawmakers did not appropriate funding. (Luhby, 6/23)

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem wrote that the voter-approved amendment unconstitutionally sought to force lawmakers to set aside money for the expansion. Under the Constitution, lawmakers can’t be forced to make appropriations unless the ballot measure includes a funding mechanism. Beetem wrote that the amendment “indirectly requires the appropriation of revenues not created by the initiative and is therefore unconstitutional.” (Ballentine, 6/23)

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year created an “untenable” conflict between federal and Florida precedent on the extent of Medicaid reimbursement rights, attorneys for both sides said in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision. On Thursday, the justices are scheduled to consider the certiorari petition filed by the parents of Gianinna Gallardo, who has been in a coma since she was hit by a truck as she got off a school bus in 2008. Her parents reached an $800,000 settlement with the alleged tortfeasors, of which just $35,000 was earmarked for “past medical expenses.” (Grzincic, 6/32)

A last-minute maneuver at the State House in Concord means Medicaid adult dental benefits are no longer in the [New Hampshire] state budget, but there appears to be bipartisan support to fund a program that advocates contend will ultimately save taxpayer dollars. Chloe Bertrand, 21, and her family recently made a trip to the State House to thank lawmakers for fully funding developmental services and to try to convince them to put the long-sought Medicaid adult dental benefit back into the budget after it was removed last week. (Sexton, 6/22)

KHN: Biden Quietly Transforms Medicaid Safety Net

The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program. Biden’s efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump administration’s moves to scale back the safety-net program. (Levey and Galewitz, 6/24)

Medicare needs to keep a closer eye on the cybersecurity of hospitals' internet-connected medical devices, an HHS' Office of Inspector General report found Wednesday. The agency recommended that CMS change its hospital quality reviews to address the issue, noting that Medicare accrediting organizations, which CMS relies on to monitor hospital quality, rarely use their power to examine networked devices' cybersecurity during routine hospital surveys. "Such a requirement would allow the (accrediting organizations) to consistently and routinely review hospitals' cybersecurity protections for their networked devices," the report said. (Brady, 6/23)