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Medicaid & the Law

Legal, regulatory and strategic advice regarding America's largest health insurance payer, and one of the most complicated and least understood areas of healthcare law.

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Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic: Oral Arguments Focus on Statutory ‘Magic Words’
Blog April 09, 2025
On April 2, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. At issue in Medina is § 1902(a)(23) of the Social Security Act (the Act),1 or the “free-choice-of-provider” provision, which allows Medicaid beneficiaries to seek care from any qualified provider…
The Supreme Court’s Talevski Decision: Medicaid Private Enforcement under Section 1983 Lives to See Another Day
Blog June 12, 2023
Today’s post provides an important update on the Supreme Court case Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County (HHC) v. Talevski.As readers will remember, our blog has been following this case since it made its way to the Supreme Court…
Justice Breyer's Influence on America's Health Care System
Blog February 01, 2022
This week's news that Justice Stephen Breyer would step down from the Supreme Court at the conclusion of the Court's term definitely caught our attention here at the Medicaid and the Law Blog.  Our view is that Justice Breyer – who, for whatever reason, did not get a significant amount of attention from the mainstream media – had a monumental influence on the American health care system…
Supreme Court Will Hear Several Health Care Cases in 2022 Term
Blog July 20, 2021
Recently, my colleague Regina DeSantis told you about the ongoing saga involving disputes between 340B contract pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers.  We often write about the 340B program on our blog because of the link between that program and the Medicaid prescription drug rebate program. Well, we're doing it again:  this time, because the U.S. Supreme Court just announced that it's going to hear a dispute between some hospitals (340B covered entities) and CMS in the Court's next…
The Availability of a Private Right of Action in Medicaid
Blog February 01, 2021
A few years ago, we told you about the “ongoing saga” surrounding the ability of a Medicaid beneficiary or a provider of health care services to a Medicaid beneficiary to challenge a state Medicaid agency's putative violation of a requirement of the Medicaid program.  For example, section 1902(a)(8) of the Social Security Act says that a state Medicaid agency must provide Medicaid benefits “with reasonable promptness to all eligible individuals.”  Well…
Fifth Circuit Decision Jeopardizes Medicaid Protections for Community Health Centers
Blog August 07, 2018
The United States Supreme Court will have the opportunity to hear an important case out of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affecting how states pay community health centers for Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in a managed care plan.  Community health centers represent the largest primary health care safety net for the nation's poorest urban and rural communities. The plaintiff in the case, Legacy Community Health Services…
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Blog Editors

About Our Blog

Foley Hoag has a unique team of healthcare lawyers and specialists with decades of experience in statutory and regulatory analysis, compliance, government investigations, litigation and corporate transactions. Most of our lawyers and healthcare policy specialists have had a direct hand in shaping virtually every healthcare law and regulation enacted over the past four decades, including:

  • The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
  • The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003
  • The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997
  • The Balanced Budget Act of 1997
  • The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
  • Budget reconciliation laws of the 1980s

Medicaid is also, by far, the largest health insurance payer in the United States and has even surpassed Medicare in terms of the number of enrollees. Medicaid is a crucial component in America’s health care system.


Our focus includes:

  • Medicaid coverage and reimbursement issues for innovative pharmaceutical products
  • Legal, regulatory and strategic advice for Medicaid mental health providers and payers
  • Medicaid waivers
  • State coverage of the Medicaid expansion population
  • State-specific Medicaid issues
  • Medicaid financing
  • Medicaid and long-term care

Blog Editors