HHS Report Finds Expanding Medicaid Helps Keep Marketplace Premiums Lower
The researchers say that premiums for insurance purchased on the health law's online marketplaces are about 7 percent lower in states that have expanded their Medicaid programs. In other news, Alabama's House passes a bill to help fund Medicaid with a lottery, South Dakota advocates begin preparing to fight again to expand Medicaid and some experts say doctor house calls might help save Medicaid money.
CNBC:
Expand Medicaid And Obamacare Will Cost Less, Federal Government Says
States that allow nearly all poor adults to enroll in their Medicaid health coverage programs saw prices on Obamacare private insurance marketplaces about 7 percent lower than states that haven't expanded Medicaid eligibility, the federal government said Thursday. The findings reflect the fact that poorer people tend to be less healthy than people with higher incomes, who make up the lion's share of Obamacare enrollees in expansion states. (Mangan, 8/25)
The New York Times' The Upshot:
How Expanding Medicaid Can Lower Insurance Premiums For All
The Obama administration for years has been pleading with states to expand their Medicaid programs and offer health coverage to low-income people. Now it has a further argument in its favor: Expansion of Medicaid could lower insurance prices for everyone else. A new study published by in-house researchers at the Department of Health and Human Services compared places that have expanded their Medicaid programs as part of Obamacare with neighboring places that have not. They found that, in 2015, insurance in the marketplace for middle-income people cost less in the places that had expanded Medicaid. (Sanger-Katz, 8/25)
Morning Consult:
HHS Report: Medicaid Expansion States See Lower Exchange Premiums
Under the expanded program, people within 138 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for Medicaid. In states that did not expand Medicaid, people within 100 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for subsidized coverage on the federal exchanges. People within that range make up, on average, 40 percent of the marketplace population in non-expansion states, as opposed to 6 percent in states that expanded Medicaid, the report says. Typically, low-income people have poorer health than people with higher incomes, meaning low-income and potentially sicker people make up a greater part of the exchange risk pools in states that have not expanded Medicaid. (McIntire, 8/25)
The Associated Press:
Alabama House Narrowly Approves Governor's Proposed Lottery
The Alabama House of Representatives narrowly approved Gov. Robert Bentley's proposed state lottery Thursday night after 10 hours of contentious debate and two vote attempts. ... The Republican governor, seeking to end the Deep South state's historic opposition to gambling as a revenue source, proposed a lottery as a way to provide money to the state's perpetually cash-strapped Medicaid program. (Chandler, 8/26)
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser:
Alabama Lottery Bill Rises From The Dead
On a second vote, the House approved the amendment 64 to 35, one vote more than it needed to go over the top. ... It goes to the Senate for concurrence or a conference committee. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said Friday morning he planned to move for a conference committee or concurrence on Friday. "We are just happy to know will have something for the people of Alabama to vote on," he said. (Lyman, 8/26)
AL.com:
Alabama Lottery Bill Passes House On Second Vote
The legislation is Gov. Robert Bentley's plan to boost funding for the General Fund and Medicaid. "We came out with a victory from the House," Bentley said, speaking to reporters after midnight. "Not us, but a victory for the people of this state. "This is about people. The lottery is just part of that process. The lottery is only a way that we can have money to fund the essential services of this state, particularly Medicaid." ... If the legislation can win final approval, it would go to voters as a proposed constitutional amendment. (Cason, 8/26)
Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader:
Health Care Giants Promise Another Push For Medicaid Expansion In 2017
Despite delays from the Legislature in addressing the proposal to expand the federal health insurance program for needy people, health care industry officials said they would push for expansion in 2017. At a meeting in Sioux Falls, representatives from the governor's office, health care organizations from across the state including Avera, Sanford and Rapid City Regional as well as a handful of legislative candidates met to discuss how they'd again make the argument for expansion in the Legislature. (Ferguson, 8/25)
Stateline:
House Calls Might Save Medicaid Money For States
Doctors who make house calls may seem like something from America’s Norman Rockwell past. But they never disappeared entirely, and there is new evidence that home visits can play an important role in providing health care to the aged and chronically ill — while saving taxpayers millions. The federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) said this month that a demonstration project has shown that delivering comprehensive primary care services at home helped to keep Medicare recipients with multiple chronic illnesses or disabilities out of hospitals, emergency rooms and nursing homes. (Ollove, 8/25)
