Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Critics Worry Georgia Governor Is Simply 'Putting A Band-Aid' On State's Uninsured Problem With New Plan
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Lawmakers See Help, Gaps In Kemp Health Plans
Gratitude, anger, confusion and caution greeted Gov. Brian Kemp’s new health care waiver proposals Tuesday with the launch of public discussions.Kemp’s aides detailed the proposals, meant to help thousands of Georgians get health insurance, at a joint hearing Tuesday afternoon of the Senate and House Health committees. Listeners began to decide whether they liked that it would make important progress — or mourned that it fell short in dealing with opioid addiction, maternal health, mental illness and other top state priorities. (Hart, 11/5)
Albany Times Union: Unplanned Medicaid Costs Present Tough Choices For State
New York could be forced to make more than $1.5 billion in drastic cuts to Medicaid spending over the next five months as the state grapples with unplanned health care costs. An October report from the state Division of Budget acknowledged that the state's Medicaid spending is on track to exceed statutory limits by more than $3 billion for the fiscal year that ends March 31. In response, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is "expected" to delay as much as $2 billion in Medicaid payments and make up the rest of the shortfall in savings, including "across-the-board reductions in rates paid to providers and health plans and reductions in discretionary payments," according to the report. (Lombardo, 11/5)
In other Medicaid news —
NBC News: Residents Suffer As Mississippi And 13 Other States Debate Medicaid Expansion
Darlene Velasco can’t afford to treat her Type 2 diabetes. She doesn’t make enough money at her job selling college sports memorabilia to pay for medication or private health insurance and, at $13.50 an hour, earns too much to qualify for Medicaid. That’s been the case for years and without treatment, Velasco, 45, was declared legally blind in May. The disease built up cataracts in her eyes and when her vision began to blur and disappear, she found herself driving to her job that carries no health benefits steered only by the memory of the backcountry roads that surround her home. (McCausland, 11/4)
