Medicaid

Senate Democrats on Aug. 17 called on federal officials to end Medicaid enrollee data sharing with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Edward Markey, D-Mass., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and…

New York’s Medicaid program failed to ensure that insurers administering the program were not denying prior authorization requests for mental health services at higher rates than for medical services, an audit report published Aug. 14 by the HHS Office of…

California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, is slashing asset limits 84% in July 2027. As a result, members who are older or have disabilities risk losing eligibility — and insurers are feeling the pressure. In 2022, California lifted the asset limit from…

A new CMS final rule will prevent federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funding from going toward gender-affirming care for youths. The rule, which Becker’s reviewed Aug. 11, will go into effect Oct. 13. It blocks states from using Medicaid federal matching funds for…

Arkansas is seeking CMS’ approval of a two-year extension for the Section 1115 waiver enabling the state’s Medicaid expansion program, Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me. Arkansas Department of Human Services Secretary Janet Mann sent CMS a letter Aug. 5…

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is growing its long-term care options for those on Medicaid in 2027. According to a July 2026 update, the expansion will reach more than 9,000 southeastern Wisconsin members of the state’s Family Care and…

It is more than halfway through 2026 and more than one year since the passage of HR 1. From policy shifts to fraud concerns to insurer strategies, Medicaid has been in an unceasing state of uncertainty. Leading up to 2027,…

The Senate’s entire Democratic caucus, made up of 45 Democrats and two aligned independents, sent a letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, Aug. 4, calling upon the agency to withdraw its June interim final rule regarding Medicaid work requirements.…

This month, Nebraska became the first state in the nation to begin rolling back Medicaid coverage by way of the federal work requirements enacted under HR 1. Dozens of other states will follow next year.  But the nation’s largest health…

CMS verbally confirmed its denial of the waiver enabling Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion program, the Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me program, leaving more than 200,000 residents in limbo. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office confirmed the update to Becker’s Aug.…