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Federal Health Policy Update for October 1

Don’t Miss: CMS partners with 37 states to launch Medicaid quality initiative CMS fleshes out GLOBE Model Medicare Part D Claims Data 340B Repository goes live The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 25 - October 1. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House A statement issued by the White House titled “President Trump Takes Historic Action to Eliminate Wasteful and Harmful Spending” includes a series of cuts, or rescissions, of health-related federal expenditures, including [...]

October 1, 2026|Categories: 340b, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and homelessness, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|Tags: 340B, 340B Data Repository, America.gov, Basic Health Program, CJR Expanded Model, CJR-X Model, CMS and states quality initiative, CMS and states quality program, CMS GLOBE Model, CMS risk-based nursing home survey, Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model, Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program, MACPAC, MACPAC inpatient hospital payment index, Medicaid 1115 waivers, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid community engagement requirement, Medicaid home and community based services, Medicaid Quality Pledge, Medicaid state directed payments, Medicaid state plan amendments, Medicare Advantage, NIH Linked Discoveries program, Real-time Platform Adaptive Seamless Trials program, Review Choice Demonstration for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Services program, Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, Rural Health Transformation Program, Simulation-augmented, SURPASS program, Treasury Department Do Not Pay Working System|

MACPAC Meets

Members of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the meeting: MACPAC’s September 2026 meeting began with a discussion around community engagement (CE) requirements in Medicaid. The 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act established CE requirements and delegates to the Secretary the authority to set certain standards and procedures that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addressed in the interim final rule with comment (IFC), issued on June 1, 2026. Staff summarized key IFC provisions, including [...]

Imminent Changes in Medicaid Eligibility for Immigrants

Come October 1, immigrants seeking Medicaid benefits – including lawful immigrants – will face a new array of eligibility criteria and requirements. KFF has presented a broad look at those new criteria, ushered in as a result of last year’s federal budget reconciliation bill – also known as H.R. 1 and the One Big Beautiful Act Bill – and how they are expected to be implemented. The major aspects of the coming changes are (all quoted directly from the KFF review): States must redetermine eligibility for all “potentially affected” existing [...]

September 30, 2026|Categories: Medicaid|Tags: immigrants and medicaid eligibility, medicaid criteria, Medicaid eligibility|

Federal Health Policy Update for September 24

Don’t Miss: CMS plans major cuts in Medicare clinical lab payments Administration reconsiders shifting NIH grant decisions to White House All states enroll in CMS model to reduce prices of selected Medicaid-covered drugs The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 18-24. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has issued the executive order “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program.” The order increases federal [...]

September 24, 2026|Categories: Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid and homelessness, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|Tags: Affordable Care Act, Affordable Care Act broker moratorium, Affordable Care Act unauthorized enrollments, CMS GENEROUS Model, H-1B visas, HHS Office of the Inspector General, Justice Department and gender-affirming care, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid most-favored nation prescription drug prices, Medicaid provider taxes, Medicaid state plan amendments, Medicare, Medicare clinical laboratory services payment rates, MLN Connects, National Vaccine Advisory Committee, NIH and merit review process for grants, proposed CMS regulation governing Medicaid provider taxes, Rural Health Transformation Program funding, Treatment First funding|

Where Have All the Nursing Home Beds Gone?

Across the country, the supply of nursing homes is dwindling. Nationally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports 900 fewer certified nursing homes in 2025 than in 2015. Why the decline? The most commonly cited reason is inadequate payments from Medicaid, the leading payer for nursing home care, which generally pays less than the daily cost of care. Another is staffing: nursing home jobs pay poorly and are considered stressful, making it difficult to attract and retain staff. Even the erosion in the number of beds may not completely [...]

September 24, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|

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