Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Children's Health Insurance Program May Be New Victim Of Turmoil From House Bill
Modern Healthcare: ACA Replacement Bill Clouds Future Of Children's Health Insurance Program
Passage of the House Republicans' healthcare overhaul bill may have created political and policy complications for the popular Children's Health Insurance Program, whose funding will end in September unless Congress reauthorizes it. The Senate Finance Committee postponed a planned hearing on CHIP reauthorization scheduled for Tuesday, reportedly at the request of committee Democrats who didn't want work on the House GOP's American Health Care Act to overshadow efforts to extend the children's program. In addition, Republicans may seek to delay consideration of renewed funding for CHIP to use it as leverage to get Democrats and moderate Republicans to support their broad healthcare reform legislation, said Joe Antos, a conservative health policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute. (Meyer, 5/7)
Modern Healthcare: If GOP Repeal Bill Becomes Law, Most States Likely To End Their Medicaid Expansion
Many if not most of the 31 states that expanded Medicaid to low-income adults likely would end those coverage expansions if Congress ultimately approves the House Republican healthcare reform bill passed Thursday, state policy experts say. Healthcare leaders and experts in Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia predicted their states would terminate their expansions if Congress passed the American Health Care Act with its Medicaid provisions intact. They and national policy experts said they see very few states having the financial capacity or political will to maintain the expansions if the bill's large cut in federal funding is enacted. (Meyer, 5/4)
The Associated Press: Price Defends Cutting Nearly $1 Trillion From Medicaid
Cutting nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid will give states the freedom to tailor the program to suit their needs, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Sunday, as he defended a narrowly passed House bill that aims to undo parts of the health care law enacted by the previous administration. (Superville, 5/7)
CQ Roll Call: States Pursue Medicaid Changes As Senate Starts Health Debate
Governors are seeking to reshape Medicaid through new eligibility restrictions, while the passage of a House health care bill Thursday sets the stage for a Senate fight over the future financing of the giant state-federal program. The confluence of these efforts will have medical associations fighting on multiple fronts this year to maintain government health funding for people living near the poverty line. Hospitals fear that they will face unpaid bills if patients lose coverage. (Young, 5/8)
Arizona Republic: GOP's 'Obamacare' Replacement Would Put State In Control Of Medicaid Eligibility
House Republicans this week pushed through legislation that seeks to dramatically overhaul the government-funded insurance program that covers nearly 2 million low-income and disabled Arizonans. If the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act passes the U.S. Senate, it could put difficult and expensive health-policy decisions on the shoulders of Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature. (Alltucker, 5/6)
Reuters: How One U.S. State Is Leading The Charge To Dismantle Obamacare
For nearly three years, Democrats and former President Barack Obama pointed to Kentucky as one of the Affordable Care Act’s biggest success stories. A poor, rural state that straddles the North and South, Kentucky was an early adopter of the healthcare law commonly known as Obamacare and saw one of the country’s largest drops in the uninsured rate. Now Kentucky is poised for a new distinction: to be the first state to save money by reducing the number of people on Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled and a central tenet of Obamacare. (Abutaleb and Respaut, 5/6)
The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate: Louisiana Is Latest State To Mull Work Requirements For Medicaid Population
Louisiana is eyeing an effort that would require able-bodied adults to get a job if they want to receive Medicaid benefits — mimicking efforts in other states that have been bolstered by ballooning Medicaid rolls and encouragement from the Trump administration. The state Legislature is expected to request that the idea be studied in the coming year to give them more insight and data before deciding to move forward with such a requirement. (Crisp, 5/6)
Tampa Bay Times: Lawmakers Are Cutting $92 Million From Medicaid In Tampa Bay. Which Hospitals Are Hardest Hit?
State lawmakers agreed late Thursday to cut $521 million from hospitals — with nearly a fifth of it coming from Tampa Bay. The cuts, which hit the Medicaid program, mostly impact the facilities that take on the largest number of Medicaid patients, including the state’s safety net hospitals. (Auslen, 5/5)
