Date Set for Restoring Medicaid Benefits in Covid-19 Rule Row

States that ended or modified Medicaid benefits due to a likely defunct HHS rule must restore benefit levels to those that were in effect at the time they were terminated, a federal court said.

Judge Michael P. Shea clarified a Jan. 31 order in which he certified a beneficiary class and told US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to reinstate previous guidance issued under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

The guidance prohibited states from kicking people off Medicaid or reducing their benefits in exchange for additional Medicaid money provided by HHS during the pandemic. The states were ...