Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
When It Comes To States' Medicaid Programs, CMS May Be Saying 'Think Outside The Box.' But There Are Still Limits.
Legislators also wanted to add a work requirement 鈥 even though courts have thwarted that in other states. They wanted Utah to 鈥渓ock out鈥 beneficiaries who intentionally received services to which they weren鈥檛 entitled 鈥 and to allow state Medicaid officials to remove them without a court finding. And they wanted Utah to be able to cap enrollment if it ran into budget problems. Though Utah needed federal waivers to make those modifications, it had reason for optimism: The Trump administration has heartily endorsed the idea of giving states maximum Medicaid flexibility. (Ollove, 10/10)
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., will聽hear arguments Friday in a case to聽decide whether Kentucky and聽other states聽can enact sweeping changes to Medicaid聽that include聽requiring聽some adults聽to prove they are working in order to keep health coverage. It's a key event in the ongoing battle over whether states can require low-income adults,聽mostly those added to Medicaid through an expansion under the Affordable Care Act, to report work or volunteer hours, pay premiums or meet other new聽rules. (Yetter, 10/9)