- Maine Governor Sued for Defying Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure Politico by Rachana Pradhan — Obamacare supporters are suing Maine Gov. Paul LePage's administration to force him to expand Medicaid, accusing the Republican of ignoring a ballot initiative that ordered the state to join the coverage program. LePage has refused to expand Medicaid nearly six months after 59 percent of the state's voters approved it in a first-of-its-kind ballot measure. He has insisted he won't adopt Medicaid expansion unless state lawmakers meet his conditions for funding the program. The lawsuit against LePage's administration was expected after the Maine Legislature's recent session ended without a funding agreement.
- Idaho Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure Moving Forward The Hill by Nathaniel Weixel — Idaho is poised to allow a vote on Medicaid expansion after an activist group said it has collected enough signatures to put it on the November ballot. Reclaim Idaho said it has collected the required 56,192 signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot. The deadline to turn in the signatures is Monday. According to the group, county clerks need to verify the signatures by June 30 in order for the initiative to be placed before voters. The initiative would provide coverage for up to 62,000 Idahoans who now fall into a coverage gap, making too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for subsidized health insurance through the state insurance exchange. Idaho would join Utah as the second state in the last month where groups have gathered enough signatures to place Medicaid expansion on the November ballot. Groups in Nebraska and Montana are also attempting to gather enough signatures.
- Trump Officials Abruptly Pull Back from Decision on Medicaid Lifetime Limits The Hill by Peter Sullivan — The Trump administration planned to announce Tuesday that it was rejecting Kansas's request to impose a three-year lifetime limit on Medicaid benefits, but canceled the announcement at the last minute due to internal administration disagreements, sources say. The rejection of Kansas's request would be significant, in that the Trump administration would be drawing the line against major new restrictions on the health insurance program for the poor. The administration has already approved work requirements in Medicaid, a controversial step on its own. But if the administration turned down Kansas, it would be rejecting efforts to go beyond that and limit Medicaid benefits to three years, after which people would be dropped from the program forever.