Alaska Legislative Hearings This Week Will Focus On Governor’s Medicaid Expansion Plan

The Associated Press: Medicaid, Budget, Lands Bill Among Things To Watch In The Alaska Legislature This Week
As the [Alaska] Legislature enters the final two weeks of the scheduled 90-day session, one of the major unresolved issues is whether consensus can be reached on a Medicaid expansion and reform package. The House Finance Committee has scheduled two-a-day meetings for Tuesday through Thursday, with the morning sessions to be focused on Gov. Bill Walker's Medicaid bill. Walker has made expanded coverage under Medicaid a priority .... House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, told reporters the current system is broken, and there are concerns with adding more people to it. (Bohrer, 4/5)

The Associated Press: Hispanic Group: Medicaid Expansion Would Help 200K Latinos
Hispanic advocates say at least 200,000 Latinos could get health insurance if Florida lawmakers choose to expand Medicaid. The National Council of La Raza says that many Hispanics have gained health coverage under President Obama’s health law, but roughly 200,000 still fall into a gap where they make too little money to qualify for a subsidy in the federal marketplace, yet earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. (4/5)

Colorado Springs Gazette/Rocky Mountain PBS I-News: Medicaid Patients Have Hard Time Getting Care At University Hospital
The University of Colorado Hospital is the largest and highest-ranked hospital in the state, an academic institution that is nationally renowned for its cancer and other specialty care. ... A persistent complaint has dogged the hospital in recent years, recorded in state warnings and public meetings. The thrust of it is that low-income patients have trouble getting in the door to see specialists or to get inpatient care. ... Susan Birch, who heads the state department that administers Medicaid, sent a strongly worded letter [in 2013] to the hospital, writing that her office had received complaints that "border on patient abandonment." She pledged to conduct an in-depth analysis of hospital records, using Medicaid claims data. If the analysis showed "a conscious policy" to deny access to Medicaid or indigent patients, the department would alert federal Medicaid and Department of Human Services officials. But the analysis was never done. (Jones, 4/6)

The Associated Press: State Readies Delayed Medicaid Billing System For Federal OK
More than seven years — and $31 million — past its original deadline, New Hampshire's Medicaid billing system is up for federal certification this month, the final step in a long-delayed process to ensure thousands of doctors and hospitals get reimbursed for Medicaid care in a timely manner. Executive councilors approved the $60 million contract in 2005, expecting to see the system completed and online by the end of 2007. But a series of delays, including the decision to make New Hampshire the guinea pig for a brand new system design, meant the system did not go online until 2013 and the state had to extend the contract with its old provider through that year. (Ronayne, 4/4)

The Associated Press: 40K On Louisiana Medicaid Waiting List For Home Health Care
Louisiana may be facing a crisis as its elderly population grows. The state’s ability to care for older residents is already stretched: there are 40,000 people on the state’s waiting list for home care services funded by Medicaid, according to the state Department of Health and Hospitals. The number is expected to grow as more baby boomers retire and the nursing home industry and home health care providers work in a climate that presents challenges for expanding their business. (Wendland, 4/4)

Other outlets examine several developments on state insurance marketplaces --

The (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Journal Gazette: Health Plans Are Failing Smokers
Indiana’s health insurance marketplace plans fail to provide all the coverage they should for smokers who want to quit, a recent study found. The American Lung Association reviewed marketplace insurance plans in all 50 states and found that only 17 percent cover tobacco cessation medications at no cost to policyholders. Fewer than half of that group cover all seven of the approved medications, the study found. (Slater, 4/4)

Health News Colorado: Robert C. Malone Named Finalist For Exchange CEO
The public review process for the selection of the new CEO for Colorado’s health exchange began Thursday with the announcement that the board had unanimously chosen Robert C. Malone as its finalist for the position. The vote was taken in an executive session Wednesday evening. (Carman, 4/3)