3.2 Million Newly Eligible Adults Enrolled In Medicaid In Early 2014, CMS Reports
The findings by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services do not include every state that expanded Medicaid but they are the first federal effort to define how many enrollees are new to the program. Also in the news, the latest from Arkansas and Tennessee regarding expansion plans in those states.
Modern Healthcare:
3.2 Million Newly Eligible Adults Joined Medicaid In Early 2014
In the first three months of last year, 3.2 million new adults joined [Medicaid under the expansion provision of the Affordable Care Act], the CMS said in a report posted Jan. 23. Even though the agency has been releasing monthly reports on Medicaid enrollment for some time, those figures did not give a nuanced look at what effect the ACA was having on enrollment because they included children and re-enrollees. The report only tracks enrollment in states that expanded Medicaid as of March 2014, so Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania were not included. Also not included in the report were California, Washington, D.C., and North Dakota because the agency was still reviewing their data for accuracy. (Dickson, 1/26)
The Associated Press:
Proposal Filed To End Arkansas' Private Option Compromise Medicaid Plan
A group of Republican lawmakers wants to terminate Arkansas' compromise Medicaid expansion by the end of the year, despite Gov. Asa Hutchinson wanting to continue the program through 2016. Republican Sen. Linda Collins-Smith and six other GOP senators co-sponsored legislation filed Monday that would end the state's "private option" on Dec. 31. Under the private option, Arkansas uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents. (1/26)
The Associated Press:
Opponent Of Insure Tennessee Proposal To Hold Senate Hearing
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to extend health coverage to 200,000 low-income Tennesseans is getting its first hearing in a legislative committee on Tuesday, though the panel won't have the authority to vote the measure up or down. Senate Judiciary Chairman Brian Kelsey has called the meeting to study what he describes as legal issues surrounding the governor's Insure Tennessee proposal. (1/27)