- Maine OKs Medicaid Expansion in First-of-Its-Kind Referendum Associated Press by Patrick Wittle — Residents in this rural state grappling with a heroin epidemic and an aging population voted Tuesday to deliver a rebuke to Republican Gov. Paul LePage and join 31 other states that have expanded Medicaid under former President Barack Obama's health care law. The referendum represents the first time since the law took effect that the question of expansion had been put in front of U.S. voters. Some 11 million people in the country have gotten coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, a health insurance program for low income people....Passage of the proposal means an estimated 70,000 people in Maine can gain health coverage. About 268,000 people currently receive Medicaid in the state.
- Election Results Invigorate Medicaid Expansion Hopes New York Times by Abby Goodnough and Margot Sanger-Katz — The election results in Maine and Virginia have energized supporters of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in several holdout states. After months of battling Republican efforts to repeal the law, they now see political consensus shifting in their direction. Groups in Idaho and Utah are already working through the process of getting Medicaid expansion initiatives on next year's ballots, hoping to follow Maine's path after failing through the legislative route. And the outlook for legislative approval has brightened in Virginia after Democrats picked up at least 15 seats in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and could potentially control the chamber once all the votes are counted. Advocacy groups are also hoping the decisive victory in Maine, and exit polls suggesting health care was the top issue in Virginia, will add momentum to efforts in Kansas and North Carolina.
- Trump Administration Will Support Work Requirements for Medicaid New York Times by Robert Pear — The Trump administration announced on Tuesday what it called "a new day for Medicaid," telling state health officials that the federal government would be more receptive to work requirements and other conservative policy ideas to reshape the main government health program for low-income people. Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration would approve proposals from states to require work or community engagement for people who want to receive Medicaid. "These are individuals who are physically capable of being actively engaged in their communities, whether it be through working, volunteering, going to school or obtaining job training," Ms. Verma said. "Let me be clear to everyone in this room: We will approve proposals that promote community engagement activities."