Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Arkansas Vows To Fight Medicaid Work Requirements Ruling That Casts Doubt On Where Restrictions Stand
The Associated Press: Ruling Creates Uncertainty For States' Medicaid Work Rules
The governor whose state is at the center of the fight over work requirements for Medicaid recipients said Thursday he wants to fight a judge's ruling blocking those rules, while Republicans elsewhere are trying to determine the decision's effect on their state. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged the federal government to appeal the ruling against his state's requirement that certain people covered by its Medicaid expansion work or lose their coverage. A day earlier, a federal judge in Washington blocked work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky. (DeMillo, 3/28)
The Washington Post: Arkansas Governor Seeks Appeal Of Decision Voiding Medicaid Work Rules
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Thursday that “no one will lose coverage from this day forward,” after a Washington federal judge blocked rules that compelled many poor people to work in exchange for public health insurance. But calling the previous day’s court ruling “a great disruption of the status quo,” Hutchinson pledged to fight vigorously to continue the first-in-the-nation work requirements that Arkansas imposed last year on people in a part of Medicaid that expanded under the Affordable Care Act. He said he had urged the Trump administration to swiftly appeal the judge’s decision and seek a stay that would allow the state to resume the program while the legal case continues. (Goldstein, 3/28)
The Hill: Trump Hits Obstacles In Effort To Reshape Medicaid
The Trump administration faces a long, tough road ahead in its mission to reshape Medicaid, the primary federal health program for the poor, after losing three legal challenges in less than one year. Trump and leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — Secretary Alex Azar and Medicaid Administrator Seema Verma — are pushing to make employment a precondition for receiving Medicaid coverage in all 50 states. (Hellmann, 3/29)
Kaiser Health News: Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health’ Health Care’s Back (In Court)
A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., has blocked work requirements for Medicaid recipients in Arkansas and Kentucky. Since the Arkansas program took effect in 2018, more than 18,000 people have lost health coverage because they failed to report their work hours to the state. Meanwhile, the Trump administration changed its position in a lawsuit filed by Republican state officials challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The administration is now officially supporting cancellation of the entire health law in light of Congress’ elimination in the 2017 tax bill of the penalty for failing to have insurance. (3/28)
In other news on Medicaid and the states —
Modern Healthcare: One Senator Blocks Bill To Coordinate Care For Sickest Kids
A bill to help states fund integrated health homes for chronically ill children stalled in the Senate due to a lawmaker's opposition, despite pressure to pass it this week along with other Medicaid provisions. The Advancing Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act, championed by Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday as part of broader legislation that incorporated another Grassley-sponsored measure to require more transparency in Medicaid drug rebates. (Luthi, 3/28)
New Hampshire Union Leader: Changes To Medicaid Work Requirement Clear Senate
A bill to change the terms of work and community service requirement in the state’s expanded Medicaid program has passed the state Senate and is on its way to the House. Thursday’s party-line, 14-10 vote comes the day after a federal judge blocked new work requirements on Medicaid recipients for a second time. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg on Wednesday rejected Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky, ruling they hurt Medicaid’s basic purpose of providing health coverage to low-income households. (Solomon, 3/28)
Concord Monitor: N.H. Senate Revises Medicaid Work Requirement
The New Hampshire Senate voted to scale back the state’s newly-approved work requirement Thursday, a day after a pair of federal lawsuits sowed doubts about it short-term future. In a 14-10 vote that sparked heated commentary over a bill that had bipartisan support last year, Democrats moved to pass Senate Bill 290, which would make a series of changes to New Hampshire’s requirement. (DeWitt, 3/28)
Nashville Tennessean: TennCare Block Grant Plan Could Have Unintended Consequences
A controversial plan to radically change the financing of the state's TennCare program is moving quickly through the legislature even as consumer advocates warn it could have unintended consequences for all Tennesseans. Should the measure succeed, Tennessee would become the first, and only, state to fund its Medicaid health care program through a block grant — an annual lump sum payment from the federal government. (Wahdwani, 3/28)
Georgia Health News: Hospital Transparency, Medicaid Funding Bill OK’d By Senate, Then Sidetracked
The state Senate approved renewal of a Medicaid funding mechanism Thursday in a bill containing a major add-on: requiring extensive financial disclosures for nonprofit hospitals. But when that legislation later went to the House for its approval, that chamber voted to disagree with it, 89-81. The measure, House Bill 321, will likely be reconsidered Friday in the House. (Miller, 3/28)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Senate OKs Bill To Disclose Nonprofit Hospitals' Finances
A bill that would require nonprofit hospitals — but not for-profit hospitals — to publish information such as their biggest administrative salaries has passed the Georgia Senate on a vote of 41-11. The measure, House Bill 321, also contains about $1 billion in extra hospital funding known as the “provider fee.” It now heads back to the House. (Hart, 3/28)
Kansas City Star: ‘Bloody’ Banners Name Republicans Against Medicaid Expansion
Three Kansas State University students, barred from the Kansas Statehouse for a year Wednesday after unfurling “bloody” banners targeting Republican leaders for opposing Medicaid expansion, had their penalty abruptly lifted by capitol officials Thursday. Despite the reversal, the students said they are in contact with the ACLU of Kansas to discuss a First Amendment violation. (Korte, 3/28)
