Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Advocates Say Arkansas Should Serve As Cautionary Tale For Other States Looking At Medicaid Work Requirements
Detroit Free Press: Mich. Medicaid Work Requirements May Cost Thousands Coverage
Thousands of low-income Michiganders who are already working or otherwise trying to find work could see their health insurance seized under a program approved by the Trump administration and set to be implemented in the state, a public policy group said Thursday. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a Washington group that advocates for policies that help low-income Americans, released a report saying that another state that has implemented work requirements for certain Medicaid recipients, as Michigan is set to do next year, has seen nearly 17,000 people lose coverage — many apparently because of bureaucratic red tape associated with the program. (Spangler, 1/10)
Nashville Tennessean: TennCare Backtracks On Freezing Payments To Rural Clinics
Tennessee rural health clinics that were struggling to stay afloat after TennCare froze payments for more than a year will now get paid. The reversal of the state's payment freeze comes after The Tennessean highlighted the dire circumstances facing rural healthcare providers who chose to serve patients in areas where doctors are scarce and poverty is widespread. About 20 new rural health clinics opened across the state in the past 18 months - some in counties where the only hospital had closed - only to learn that extra payments TennCare had promised would not be coming while the state created new payment rules. (Wadhwani, 1/10)
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Medicaid Expands Care To Hepatitis C Patients, But Restrictions Remain
Starting this month more hepatitis C patients can qualify for care under Iowa Medicaid. But some doctors and advocates argue the remaining restrictions are immoral and illegal. Iowa is considered one of the most restrictive states when it comes to treatment of the blood-borne hepatitis C Virus, or HCV, under state Medicaid programs. (Payne, 1/10)
The CT Mirror: State Sued Over Failure To Provide Adequate Medicaid Transportation
Attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit against the state Department of Social Services for failing to provide Medicaid recipients transportation to critical medical appointments, a move that follows dogged complaints about missed pickups and poor customer service for some of Connecticut’s most vulnerable patients. Connecticut Legal Services filed the lawsuit, naming DSS and Commissioner Roderick Bremby, on Wednesday on behalf of six Medicaid recipients with a variety of serious illnesses who rely on those transportation services for routine and vital care. (Silber, 1/10)
