Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ala. Legislature Kills Lottery Plan That Would Have Boosted Medicaid Funding
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser: Alabama Lottery Dies Amid Dog Track Concerns
Needing just one final vote to go on a future election ballot, a proposal to establish a statewide lottery collapsed in the Alabama Senate Friday when Democrats, key to the bill’s success, withdrew their support amid concerns language in the bill ... could give the Poarch Band of Creek Indians a gaming monopoly at the expense of the state’s existing dog tracks. ... The end result was the death of the centerpiece of the special session called by Gov. Robert Bentley and renewed uncertainty about the future of the state’s Medicaid program, which covers 1 million Alabamians, more than half under the age of 17. (Lyman, 8/26)
AL.com: Alabama Lottery Bill Dead For Special Session
At a press conference after the bill died, the governor said today's vote rejecting the bill was a vote against the children and others who depend on Medicaid, about one million Alabamians overall. "I can't accept that as a doctor and I can't accept it as the governor of this state," Bentley said. "Because one of the things we have to do as a government is this: There are people in this state who cannot take care of themselves. And there are people who depend on government and the government is us." The lottery proposal, if approved by voters, would have sent almost 90 percent of net lottery revenue to the state General Fund, with the first $100 million of that going to Medicaid. (Cason, 8/26)
Des Moines Register: Report: Medicaid Managers' Spending On Iowans Varies Greatly
The three private companies managing Iowa’s Medicaid program are spending significantly different amounts on care for the hundreds of thousands of poor or disabled people they cover, a new report suggests. Amerigroup is spending an average of $402 per adult member per month, 13 percent more than the $357 spent by UnitedHealthcare and 47 percent more than the $273 spent by AmeriHealth Caritas, the report shows. Amerigroup spent $198 per child member per month, 112 percent more than the $93 AmeriHealth spent and 78 percent more than the $111 UnitedHealthcare spent. (Leys, 8/26)
Des Moines Register: Late Medicaid Payments Spark An Eviction Threat To One Newton Mom And Her Disabled Daughter
Anita Kacmarynski’s landlord is running out of patience as the Newton woman struggles to gain full payment from the private companies running Iowa’s Medicaid program. The landlord sent an eviction notice this week to Kacmarynski, whose main source of income is Medicaid payments for care of her disabled adult daughter, Heather. Like many other care providers, Kacmarynski says she’s had a devil of a time wringing payment out of the national companies the state recently hired to run the giant public health insurance program for the poor and disabled. (Leys, 8/26)
The Washington Post: McAuliffe Sees Medicaid Expansion, Rainy-Day Fund As Fix For $1.5 Billion Budget Hole
Gov. Terry McAuliffe suggested tapping the state’s rainy day fund and accepting more federal Medicaid money on Friday as a way to patch the state’s $1.5 billion budget hole. McAuliffe (D) formally informed legislators of the budget shortfall, the result of lower-than-expected revenue from payroll and sales taxes, at a meeting of House and Senate money committees on Capitol Square. (Vozzella, 8/26)
The Hill: Obama Officials Call To Boost Healthcare Funds To Puerto Rico
The Obama administration is pushing Congress to reform Puerto Rico’s healthcare programs to help fight the Zika virus and remove limits on health funding that officials call harmful. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew wrote to Congress on Friday calling for the cap on Puerto Rico’s Medicaid funding to be lifted and for the federal contribution to the program to be raised so it is more in line with the assistance given to the 50 states. (Sullivan, 8/26)
The Baltimore Sun: Former Priority Partners Employee Pleads Guilty To Medicaid Fraud
A former employee of Priority Partners, a Medicaid Managed Care Organization owned by Johns Hopkins HealthCare, [pleaded] guilty to felony Medicaid fraud for altering medical records that caused the Medicaid to improperly pay the company more than $875,000. Inca Elfriede Schultz, 61, of Cudjoe Key, Fla., was sentenced to five years incarceration by Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Michael Wachs. He suspended all but 18 months of her sentence to be served in home detention. (Gantz, 8/26)
