CMS

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

For the first time, Medicare is able to directly negotiate the prices of prescription drugs due to President Biden’s prescription drug law, the Inflation Reduction Act. Today, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure issued the following statement on the announcement that the drug companies that manufacture all 10 drugs selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for the first cycle have chosen to participate in the Negotiation Program. The negotiations with participating drug companies for the selected drugs will occur in 2023 and 2024 with the negotiated prices effective beginning in 2026. 

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) are seeking public input on how best to ensure coverage and access to over-the-counter (OTC) preventive services, including the benefits of requiring most health insurance plans to cover these services at no cost and without a prescription by a health care provider. This new Request for Information (RFI) solicits comment on access to a range of OTC items recommended by experts for preventive care that can be purchased without a prescription, including contraceptives, tobacco smoking cessation products, folic acid during pregnancy, and breastfeeding supplies.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

HHS Takes Action to Provide 12 Months of Mandatory Continuous Coverage for Children in Medicaid and CHIP

I last wrote about so-called "Short-Term, Limited Duration" healthcare policies back in July (aka STLDs, though "Short-Ass Plans" is my preference).

Once again, here's a refresher on what STLDs are via KFF:

Three weeks ago, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they were cracking down on one of the main reasons why so many people are being kicked off of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) even though they were still eligible: 

CMS believes that eligibility systems in a number of states are programmed incorrectly and are conducting automatic renewals at the family-level and not the individual-level, even though individuals in a family may have different eligibility requirements to qualify for Medicaid and CHIP. For example, children often have higher eligibility thresholds than their parents, making them more likely to be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage even if their parents no longer qualify. This conflicts with existing federal Medicaid requirements and may have a disproportionate impact on children.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) final rule will make it easier for millions of eligible people to enroll in and retain their Medicare Savings Program (MSP) coverage. The final rule reduces red tape and simplifies Medicare Savings Program enrollment, helping millions of seniors and people with disabilities afford coverage. The final rule follows President Biden’s executive orders in January 2021, December 2021, and April 2022, directing federal agencies to take action to expand affordable, quality health coverage.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

Inflation Reduction Act Continues to Lower Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs for Drugs with Price Increases Above Inflation

• CMS announces savings for some people with Medicare on 34 Part B prescription drugs

A continuing key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration is lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and families. Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the list of 34 prescription drugs for which Part B beneficiary coinsurances may be lower between October 1 – December 31, 2023. Some people with Medicare who take these drugs may save between $1 and $618 per average dose starting October 1, 2023, depending on their individual coverage. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden and his Administration are lowering prescription drug costs for millions of American seniors and their families. 

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

CMS Approves Added Benefits to Essential Health Benefits (EHB) Benchmark Plans in North Dakota and Virginia

September 6: CMS approved added benefits to the Essential Health Benefits (EHB) benchmark plans for North Dakota and Virginia for the 2025 plan year. The Affordable Care Act requires non-grandfathered health plans in the individual and small group markets to cover essential health benefits (EHB), which include items and services in ten benefit categories. For plan year 2020 and after, the Final 2019 HHS Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters provides states with greater flexibility by establishing new standards for states to update their EHB-benchmark plans, and for tailoring them to fit the health care needs of their states.

Here's the best summaries I could find of the additional benefits for each state:

North Dakota:

Over at Inside Health Policy, Amy Lotven has an excellent scoop from a new CMS report which was hiding in plain sight:

New CMS data, quietly released in late August, show about 178,000 consumers chose a qualified health plan (QHP) through a state or federal exchanges after losing Medicaid and CHIP coverage in the first two months of the Medicaid unwinding. Those sign-ups through the end of May are more than three times the 54,000 enrollments that CMS reported in July, which reflected only the April numbers.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

In May 2023, 93,815,749 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.

• 86,783,676 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid in May 2023, a decrease of 279,373 individuals (-0.3%) from April 2023.

• 7,032,073 individuals were enrolled in CHIP in May 2023, a decrease of 41,687 individuals (0.6%) from April 2023

• As of May 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP has decreased by 61,085 since March 2023, the final month of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
  • Medicaid enrollment has increased by 69,102 individuals (0.1%).
  • CHIP enrollment has decreased by 130,187 individuals (1.8%)

• Between February 2020 and March 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP increased by 23,001,765 individuals (32.5%) to 93,876,834.
  • Medicaid enrollment increased by 22,634,781 individuals (35.3%).
  • CHIP enrollment increased by 366,984 individuals (5.4%)