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Last Updated: 10:40 AM EST
Medicaid
Idaho now joins Utah in seeking a voter referendum on the expansion of Medicaid. Reclaim Idaho, a grassroots consumer has obtained the required number of signatures to have the issue of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act placed on the upcoming ballot in November. (ReclaimIdaho.org)
Ohio is the latest state to submit a work requirement modification to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for their adult Medicaid population. (Medicaid.Ohio.gov)
The State of Kansas request for lifetime cap on Medicaid benefits set for rejection by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (TheHill.com)
Medicare
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is petitioning the Supreme Court to review a 2017 decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, questioning "whether Section 1395hh(a)(2) requires HHS to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking before providing instructions to a Medicare Administrative Contractor that makes initial determinations of payments due under Medicare, when those instructions rest on a non-legally-binding administrative interpretation of a relevant statutory provision." (Justice.gov)
Private Sector
BCBSA announced a new partnership program with the NIH to advance individualized prevention, treatment and care programs. (BCBS.com)
Aetna Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini announced during Tuesday morning's Q1 earnings call: “Our Medicare growth strategy remains on track as we grew to serve nearly 250,000 additional Medicare Advantage members in the first quarter. We are pleased with our strong start to the year and remain focused on our business priorities as we plan for our projected combination with CVS Health in the second half of 2018.” (Aetna.com)
Legislation
"The time has simply come. The status quo cannot hold. The way we do business in American healthcare, from insurance and IT to drug pricing and patient billing, must change." -Alex Azar, Secretary of HHS, in a speech to the World Health Care Congress on Value-Based Transformation and Innovation (HHS.gov)
Litigation
CIGNA Health Plan member initiates class action against CIGNA and American Specialty Health Inc. in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging violations of ERISA fiduciary duties with regard to making coverage determinations under employer self-funded group health plans.
The Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma has filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service for failure to pay "contract support costs" from 2006-2014.
