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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded grants to all fifty states under the Rural Health Transformation Program. The average grant for 2026 is $200,000, with grants ranging from $147 million to $281 million. The states receiving the highest amount of grants were Texas at $218 million, Alaska at $272 million, and California […]

Becker’s Hospital Review has published an article detailing the myriad policy changes to be implemented in 2026 that will impact hospitals and other medical providers. Among the most significant policy changes are: The expiration of the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that allowed households earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level

CMS is scheduled to award grants to states under the Rural Health Transformation Program on or before December 31, 2025. Although the award of half of the funds was specified by Congress, Congress provided CMS with significant discretion over the remainder – discretion that CMS is using to reward states whose current or future policies

The New York State Department of Health has issued new rules governing the temporary or permanent closures of healthcare facilities. The new rules updated and clarified previous rules governing facility closures. Under the new rules, healthcare facilities may not close, discontinue services or reduce beds without prior approval of the facility’s Closure Plan. Temporary closures

The Settlement Claims Administrator for the BCBS Provider Antitrust Settlement has updated the claims website with the following information: “The claim submission deadline for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Provider Settlement passed on July 29, 2025.  The Settlement Administrator is no longer accepting new claims or changes to existing claims absent a showing of good

The Alabama Hospital Investment Program provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against state income and other taxes for individuals and businesses that donate to eligible rural hospitals in Alabama. The Program was established by statute and is available for the tax years from 2026 – 2028. It is intended to help eligible rural hospitals receive additional

On September 23, 2025, Judge R. David Proctor entered an order establishing the Monitoring Committee for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Provider Settlement.  The Committee will be comprised of:  Whatley Kallas partner, W. Tucker Brown, and Healthcare Association of New York State (formerly “Hospital Association of New York State”) Special Counsel for Managed Care and

In a strongly worded letter to the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”), the American Hospital Association has asked HRSA to abandon the proposed 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program (“the Pilot Program”), or to delay its implementation until issues with the costs of compliance with it could be fixed. The 340B Drug Pricing Program allows

Whatley Kallas is pleased to announce that the $2.8 Billion Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Settlement, the largest payment in a healthcare antitrust case, has become effective. The Settlement also contains injunctive relief that plaintiffs’ experts value in excess of $17.3 billion. There were no appeals from the Court’s final approval of the Settlement. Whatley

The court overseeing the Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation has granted final approval of the Provider Plaintiffs’ settlement, which provides $2.8 billion in monetary relief and at least $17.3 billion in injunctive relief to healthcare providers.  A copy of the Final Approval Order can be found here, and on Whatley Kallas’s settlement website at