The federal Office of Management and Budget has approved an emergency request by the CMS to let it examine whether Indiana’s conservative-friendly, alternative Medicaid expansion model has hurt beneficiaries’ access to care.

The OMB’s quick approval of the three beneficiary surveys proposed by the CMS is critical, because other Republican-led states including Arizona, Kentucky and Ohio are looking to implement versions of Indiana’s plan, said Judith Solomon, vice president for health policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Acquiring data on the impact of Indiana’s expansion strategy will quickly offer insights about whether there are any drawbacks for patients, she said. Read the full story here.