Federal Court Agrees to Let Democrats Defend Obamacare in Court (The Hill, 2/14/19) As reported in earlier Washington Updates, a federal district court in Texas ruled, in Texas v. Azar, that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional, as claimed by the...

ACE Kids Act Introduced in the House and Senate During the last Congress, the Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act (ACE Kids Act) was passed by the House as part of a larger bill, but did not make it to the Senate. Since it is a new Congress, all legislation must...

MEDICAID WAIVERS Updated 1915(c) Waiver Application On January 28, 2019, CMS released a revised application and technical guide for Medicaid 1915(c) waivers, used to provide home-and community based services. According to this information provided by the National...

Understanding Your TRICARE Explanation of Benefits (Benefit Update, 2/19/19) WORTH REPEATING: Final Rule on Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) On February 13, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule (PDF) about the Exceptional Family Member Program...

From the Agencies: From the Department of Education: FERPA and school security On February 5, the Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) released a publication, School Resource Officers, School Law Enforcement Units, and the Family...

WORTH REPEATING: ANNOUNCEMENT The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) has announced that the Youth Health Equity Model of Practice (YHEMOP) Summer 2019 Health Equity Fellow Application is now available. Through its YHEMOP program, OMH places students enrolled in...

Promising Practices in Managed Long-Term Services and Supports: Network Adequacy and Accessibility Friday, February 15, 2:00-3:30 pm ET Community Living Policy Center Guidelines-Based Asthma Care Coverage in Medicaid: New Tools for Stakeholders Tuesday, February 19,...

Autism CARES Act On February 8, the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support (CARES) Act (S. 427; H.R. 1058) was introduced in the Senate by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Mike Enzi (R-WY). Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Mike...

Medicaid Waivers Utah GOP Shrinks Medicaid Expansion, Defying Voters The Republican governor signed a bill curbing Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, months after voters approved the program. (Politico, 02/11/2019). REMINDER: Approved and pending Medicaid waiver...

Final Rule on Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) On February 13, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule (PDF) about the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), which was created to enhance and improve DoD support around the world for military...