Federal judge sides with Texas in Medicaid lawsuit, enjoins CMS

A federal court June 30 enjoined the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from implementing and enforcing a bulletin addressing Medicaid funding and the redistribution of Medicaid payments, siding with the state of Texas in the ongoing legal challenge. Texas in April sued CMS on the pretext that the agency unlawfully interpreted a provision barring states from holding taxpaying health care providers harmless for the cost of taxes used to fund Medicaid. The court further ruled that the bulletin cannot be used as basis for any deferrals or disallowances.