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CMS plans to distribute $20 million in grants to state-based marketplaces that will finance technology upgrades to improve performance and the consumer experience. The grants, part of the American Rescue Plan Act, are meant to assist SBMs in complying with federal marketplace requirements and in providing quicker insurance enrollment and eligibility determinations. For states with currently approved SBMs, these grants will act as a form of federal maintenance funding, said Adam Block, a New York-based health economist and former CMS regulator. (Devereaux, 6/22)

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans are now on Medicaid — the largest population since the program was first created in 1965. But millions, or even tens of millions, could get booted from the program next year, as states restart eligibility checks after a forced hiatus. (Cunningham, 6/22)

In a much-delayed and much-anticipated bill, the state Senate presented their proposed biennial budget on Monday that includes billions of dollars to shift North Carolina’s Medicaid system from one run by the state to a new apparatus largely run by private managed-care insurance organizations. “Our nonpartisan fiscal analyst told us that we had an even bigger surplus than we initially thought,” Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said during a press briefing Monday before releasing the spending plan. “The Senate is proposing to reduce taxes even more and advance a 10-year $12 billion cash infrastructure and capital plan that includes $3 billion in cash over the next two years for projects.” (Barnes, Blythe, Dougani and Hoban, 6/23)

More children across Arkansas are going without health insurance. According to the 2021 Kids Count Data Book, which reports state data, the number of children without health insurance rose by almost 10,000 from 2018 to 2019. The study also found in 2021, more than one in five children live in poverty. (Ranck, 6/22)

Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that lawmakers would return to the Capitol at noon Wednesday for a special session to renew a tax on medical providers critical to the state’s Medicaid program. Parson, a Republican, said as part of his special session call that he would allow lawmakers to debate funding restrictions for contraceptives, such as Plan B and intrauterine devices, and bans on funding for abortion facilities and affiliates through the state’s Uninsured Women’s Health Services Program. (Suntrup, 6/22)