Attorney General Skrmetti Joins 21 States in Filing Petition to Withdraw Federal Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Thursday that he led efforts with attorneys general from 21 states in filing a Petition for Rulemaking, requesting that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to repeal the “unlawful federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and withdraw related guidance.”

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Two Georgia Health Systems to Receive $300M in Federal Funds

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is sending more than $300 million to help Georgia bolster health programs at the Grady and Augusta University health systems.

The money will support Georgia’s Advancing Innovation to Deliver Equity program. Under the initiative, the two health systems will see higher Medicaid payment rates on services provided through Georgia’s managed care program.

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Connecticut Approved for Federal Funds for Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Connecticut has been approved to receive federal funding for new substance abuse treatments, Gov. Ned Lamont said.

The governor announced the state will receive $30 million in annual Medicaid funding that will benefit residents who are struggling with substance abuse to provide them heightened treatment. Funding will also cover residential care services while increasing provider payment rates.

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New Consumer Protection Law Will Forbid ‘Surprise’ Medical Bills to Patients

Anew law going into effect on Saturday forbids medical providers from issuing “surprise” charges to patients using out-of-network services.

The “No Surprises Act,” passed in late 2020, offers consumers “new billing protections when getting emergency care, non-emergency care from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, and air ambulance services from out-of-network providers,” according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

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Biden Administration Labels Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirements ‘Harmful,’ Abolishes Them

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials this week described Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements as “harmful” and announced that Peach State officials may no longer impose them as a condition of Medicaid eligibility. CMS officials also announced that Georgia officials no longer have the authority to charge premiums beyond those allowed under the Medicaid statute in its Georgia “Pathways to Coverage” demonstration.

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Florida Health Care Association Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Healthcare Workers

Person with mask on holding COVID vaccine

The Biden Administration announced Thursday that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require the COVID vaccine for healthcare workers at facilities that operate using Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, or that are “CMS-regulated.”

The requirement will apply to approximately 50,000 healthcare providers which include, hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, home health agencies, and any other CMS-regulated settings.

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Ohio Appeals Biden Administration’s Nixing Work, Training Requirement to Receive Medicaid

Unemployment line

The State of Ohio has asked the Biden Administration to reconsider its Aug. 10 squelching of an Ohio Medicaid pilot program designed to encourage Medicaid recipients to work or receive job training in order to keep their government-funded healthcare.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  (CMS)((cq)) on Aug. 10 withdrew its earlier approval for the demonstration program first approved under the administation of President Donald Trump that would have allowe the Ohio Department of Medicaid to require recipients ages 19 to 50 to either find work, join a job-training program, or find other “community engagement such as volunteering for at least 80 hours per month to remain covered.

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Trump Administration Ends Unions ‘Skimming’ $100 Million a Year from Medicaid

by Bethany Blankley   A final rule change has been implemented by the Trump administration to ensure that Medicaid providers receive complete payments as required by law. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Medicaid Provider Reassignment Regulation final rule that removes states from being able to divert portions of Medicaid provider payments to third parties – including unions – outside of the scope of what the statute allows. The final rule came after CMS considered more than 7,000 comments from the public, healthcare providers, unions, state agencies, and advocacy groups during the public comment period after the changes were proposed. “State Medicaid programs are responsible for ensuring that taxpayer dollars are dedicated to providing healthcare services for low-income, vulnerable Americans and are not diverted in ways that do not comply with federal law,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. “This final rule is intended to ensure that providers receive their complete payment, and that any circumstance where a state redirects part of a provider’s payment is clearly allowed under the law.” Section 1902(a)(32) of the Social Security Act generally prohibits states from making payments for…

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