On Monday, June 4, 2018, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ordered the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to submit by June 11, 2018 a state plan to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)to provide expanded Medicaid eligibility to appropriate Maine residents pursuant to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  

On Monday, February 26, 2018, twenty states, led by the attorneys general of Texas and Wisconsin, sued officials of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), alleging that the law revoking the penalty aspect of the ACA’s individual mandate rendered the entire ACA unconstitutional.  The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. 

The State Flexibility to Stabilize the Market Grant Program (“State Flexibility Grant Program”) was developed to support states as they implement several of the market reforms and consumer protections under Title I of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This new funding opportunity builds upon many of the efforts currently underway in states related to the Consumer Protection grant funds, which were awarded in October 2016. PCG assisted many states with projects related to those consumer protections grant funds and our team has used that experience to compile the following insights and suggested activities to help states with their grant applications for this new federal funding opportunity.

On February 20, 2018, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly promulgated a proposed rule on Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance (STLDI) plans. The proposed regulatory changes seek to carry out the directions given in Executive Order 13813, “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States,” to expand access to STLDI plans. STLDI plans are excluded from the definition of individual health insurance coverage and, therefore, are not required to meet the coverage and consumer protection requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).