Missouri GOP Lawmakers Advance Plan To Financially Hamstring Medicaid Expansion

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOP Plan To Gut Medicaid Advances To Floor Of Missouri House 
Despite winning the support of 53% of Missouri voters in 2020, Republicans who control the state Legislature are making another run at gutting Medicaid expansion. In action Monday, a key budget panel forwarded a proposed constitutional amendment to the full House that would ask voters to allow the government-subsidized health care program to be subject to annual appropriations by the General Assembly. The proposal advanced on a 22-9 vote. If approved, the proposed constitutional change regarding Medicaid would put the power to make the program available to as many as 275,000 low-income Missourians in the hands of the Legislature, meaning it could, again, choose not to fund the expansion. (Erickson, 2/7)

In other Medicaid news from Georgia, North Carolina, Connecticut and Massachusetts —

Georgia Health News: Senate Backs Longer Medicaid Benefits For Post-Partum Women 
The state Senate unanimously approved a bill Monday extending Medicaid coverage from six months to a year for low-income post-partum women. The legislation aims to address Georgia’s high rate of maternal mortality — women’s deaths related to pregnancy. Medicaid, the federal/state program for low-income and disabled residents, covers more than half of the births in Georgia. The added Medicaid coverage at the end of pregnancy was backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, whose budget contains $28 million for the coming fiscal year to implement the change. (Miller, 2/7)

North Carolina Health News: Months In, Medicaid Transition Still Confusing Patients 
About 1.7 million people in the state have experienced a change to their insurance in the seven months since North Carolina began its switch from a Medicaid system administered by the state to one managed by five for-profit organizations (and one by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for tribal members). Despite a marketing push and outreach efforts, a quarter of people with Medicaid didn’t know about the transition back in July according to a study from an advocacy group. And now, more than half a year in, data from the Medicaid Ombudsman’s office — which fields and investigates questions from people with Medicaid — show that thousands are still confused about the technically public insurance, which now looks and acts a lot like private insurance. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 2/8)

The CT Mirror: CT Lawmakers Eye Lofty Health Care Reforms In Short Legislative Session
Last year, the coronavirus pandemic was a catalyst for a raft of health care reform proposals before the General Assembly, with lawmakers addressing everything from health equity measures to staffing and safety protocols in nursing homes. When this year’s legislative session begins on Wednesday, some of that work will continue but on a pared-down schedule. The 2021 session was 22 weeks long; this year’s is just 12... The ambitious health care agenda for this year includes a revival of bills tackling the high cost of prescription drugs, a plan to expand the state’s Medicaid program to older undocumented children, a controversial measure that would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminal patients and a ban on flavored vaping products. (Carlesso, 2/8)

The Boston Globe: Missing Personal Care Attendant Payments Strain An Already Taxed Workforce
On Jan. 1, the state streamlined the way it pays workers who assist people with disabilities, consolidating payroll operations from three providers to one. But the transition hit a major snag, resulting in payment delays for thousands of personal care attendants who count on each paycheck landing in their bank account on time. Deposits resumed within a few weeks, but industry observers say the fiasco has caused some members of an already short-staffed workforce to quit, and may inflict long-term damage on a vital but vulnerable workforce. “We’ve gotten tons of calls from PCAs who are worried about losing their car insurance, being evicted. It’s a real-life crisis for these people,” said Rebecca Gutman, vice president of homecare at 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents the workers. (Johnston, 2/7)

In Medicare news —

Stat: Unexpected Groups Pressure Medicare Over Its Alzheimer’s Drug Decision
Medicare has already received more than 4,300 comments on its recent proposal to limit coverage for Biogen’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, and other similar drugs. But most aren’t from drug makers, Alzheimer’s advocacy groups, or even neurologists. They’re from two unexpected letter writing campaigns. The largest campaign is being organized by an “advocacy news” operation, More Perfect Union, which was founded by a former campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and which is part of a cadre of overtly political organizations that produce viral explainer videos, like this one on Aduhelm, that often include calls for viewers to take an action like emailing Medicare. (Florko, 2/8)

Modern Healthcare: Black, Hispanic And Low-Income Patients Face A Little-Known Care Gap
Black, Hispanic and low-income patients on Medicare have less access to high-quality home health agencies, according to new research. The same is true for those who live in neighborhoods with a greater share of Black, Hispanic and low-income residents. A new Health Affairs study found that there is 5.5 percentage points between Black and white patients' use of high-quality home health agencies, 11.9 percentage points between Hispanic and white patients' use and a 3.9 percentage-point difference between higher-income and low-income patients' use, making high-quality care "out of reach" for some. More than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries receive home health services. (Christ, 2/7)

KHN: Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens Of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars
The federal government has penalized 764 hospitals — including more than three dozen it simultaneously rates as among the best in the country — for having the highest numbers of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications. The penalties — a 1% reduction in Medicare payments over 12 months — are based on the experiences of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital between July 2018 and the end of 2019, before the pandemic began in earnest. The punishments, which the Affordable Care Act requires be assessed on the worst-performing 25% of general hospitals each year, are intended to make hospitals focus on reducing bedsores, hip fractures, blood clots, and the cohort of infections that before covid-19 were the biggest scourges in hospitals. Those include surgical infections, urinary tract infections from catheters, and antibiotic-resistant germs like MRSA. (Rau, 2/8)

Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized By Medicare?