CMS ends Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care for minors
Federal Medicaid funding no longer will be available to cover gender-affirming healthcare for minors, according to a CMS final rule issued Aug. 11. The rule blocks Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) federal matching funds from reimbursing providers for what the rule refers to as “sex-rejecting procedures” in beneficiaries younger than 18 in Medicaid…
Senate Medicaid hearing highlights the debate over federal spending cuts
Cuts to federal Medicaid spending are necessary to streamline the program and don’t necessarily portend tough times for providers, conservative policymakers and analysts argued during a Senate hearing. The Aug. 4 hearing of the Senate Budget Committee included discussion of whether healthcare policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) should be scaled back…
Medicaid provider tax proposed rule could cut payments by $220 billion over 10 years
A proposed rule from CMS implements anticipated changes to the system of provider taxes that help fund supplemental reimbursement in Medicaid. The changes are required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, also referred to as the Working Families Tax Cut legislation), with the proposed rule filling in details. The repercussions of the rule…
Medicaid revenue cutbacks, plus the healthcare fraud landscape
Nick Hut is joined by HFMA Policy Director Katie Gilfillan to discuss fraud, waste and abuse as well as state-directed Medicaid payments. Further reading: CMS Medicaid state-directed payment rule | HFMA
Oct. 6, 2025: The healthcare impacts of a federal government shutdown
HFMA Senior Editor Nick Hut and HFMA Policy Director Shawn Stack discuss the latest in healthcare finance news.
Dr. Oz and CMS, plus HFMA’s new Fast Finance newsletter
Nick Hut and Shawn Stack discuss the confirmation hearing of Mehmet Oz as CMS administrator. Also in this episode, HFMA’s Brad Dennison and Rich Daly talk about the new Fast Finance newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, email Brad Dennison at [email protected].
Hospital revenue is enhanced by state-directed Medicaid payments, health systems report
State-directed supplemental payments made through Medicaid are a growing source of hospital revenue, according to financial reporting from the for-profit hospital sector. In reporting their Q2 financials, several of the nation’s largest health systems cited Medicaid supplemental payments as a boost. State-directed payments are a relatively new form of those payments, applying to Medicaid managed…
As providers seek resolution of continuing Change Healthcare issues, UnitedHealth Group reports strong financials
The aftermath of the Change Healthcare cyberattack affected the second-quarter financials of parent company UnitedHealth Group (UHG), but not to the point of hindering the company’s continued “diversified and durable growth,” CEO Andrew Witty said during a recent investor call. Q2 revenues increased by 6% year-over-year, while profits dropped by 5.5% amid costs stemming from…
Supreme Court ruling on Chevron makes regulations in healthcare (and other industries) more vulnerable to legal challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Friday that has dramatic implications for the regulatory infrastructure in healthcare, among many other industries. Since it was established in a 1984 case, Chevron deference has served as guidance to courts that regulatory authorities such as CMS and dozens of others across the federal government have license to…
HHS issues regulations to strengthen anti-discriminatory protections in healthcare (updated)
July 3 update A judge with the Southern District of Mississippi federal court granted an injunction preventing the Biden administration from enforcing regulations expanding anti-discrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Issued two days before the new rule was to take effect, the order applies to the provisions concerning gender identity. The move came…