Medicaid in the headlines: 10 recent updates

Georgia is implementing work requirements for Medicaid, and other states could follow. 

Concurrently, HHS is urging governors to do more to prevent eligible people from being disenrolled from Medicaid during redeterminations. 

Here are 10 Medicaid updates from the past month to know: 

1. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the state's budget, which includes language requiring the state to ask the federal government if it can impose Medicaid work requirements. If the federal government grants Ohio's request, able-bodied residents 55 and younger would need to work or study at least 20 hours per week — with some exceptions — to qualify for the program. 
   
   

2. Squabbles over the state's budget could delay implementation of the Medicaid expansion in North Carolina. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged lawmakers to separate Medicaid expansion from the state's budget negotiations to allow the state to work on implementing the expansion while budget negotiations continue. 
   
   

3. Georgia's Medicaid work requirement program is set to begin July 1. Here are five things to know about the program. 
   
   

4. The Government Accountability Office is urging CMS to consider adding Medicaid managed care programs to the scope of its recovery audit program. 
   
   

5. Michigan said it would pause Medicaid disenrollments through July, and more states could follow. Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services said it would not disenroll anyone with Medicaid renewal paperwork due June 30 until the end of July. Around 10 states are interested in taking similar actions, Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, told The Washington Post.
   
   
6. California lawmakers and healthcare stakeholders have reached a major deal that represents the largest-ever investment in Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program. With federal funds factored in, the $35 billion agreement will be partly funded by a renewed managed care tax on health plans based on how many members they cover.
   
   
7. The nation's retail pharmacy giants are playing an important role in Medicaid redeterminations through payer-agnostic outreach and education initiatives aimed at customers and employees in all 50 states. Here's how CVS and Walgreens are acting as the front door to Medicaid redeterminations.
   
   
8. More than 1 million people have been disenrolled from Medicaid as part of the redeterminations process, according to KFF. Around half of those disenrolled live in Florida, Arizona and Arkansas. Florida had disenrolled nearly 250,000 individuals as of June 12.
   
   
9. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra urged states to do more to prevent people from losing Medicaid coverage for procedural reasons. CMS said the agency will implement additional flexibilities for states to keep more people covered, including allowing states to delay Medicaid termination for one month to conduct more targeted outreach to individuals.
   
   
10. Oklahoma awarded Humana, Aetna and Centene its first Medicaid managed care contracts.