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8 hours ago
On Friday, the State of Texas and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission filed suit against Elizabeth Richter as Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and CMS directly. The suit, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, concerns a rulemaking letter issued by Administrator Richter regarding the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program (THTQIP Demonstration Project). The complaint alleges that the rulemaking letter does not meet the procedural standards issued both by CMS and under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Federal statutes and regulations impose a number of requirements on state Medicaid programs for providing medical assistance to poor and underserved communities. However, certain rules may be waived under what are known as demonstration projects, which propose administrative alternatives to certain procedural and financing requirements. The THTQIP demonstration project is one of these projects and has been in effect in Texas since 2011, with extensions made in 2016, 2017, and 2021. This most recent extension is the subject of this lawsuit.