Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Medicaid Expansion Will Lead To Tax Increases; Vote Yes To Extend Medicaid To The Working Poor
The Wall Street Journal: ObamaCare’s Red State Trap
Many readers no doubt take comfort in living thousands of miles away from the tax and spending misadventures of Illinois or Connecticut. But fair warning: One of the worst deals in state spending is coming to a red state near you, and that’s expanding Medicaid to adult men above the poverty line. On Nov. 6 four states will consider ballot initiatives on expanding Medicaid: Nebraska, Utah, Idaho and Montana, the last of which would extend an expansion that is set to expire. More than 30 states have expanded the entitlement as part of the Affordable Care Act. (10/29)
Omaha World-Herald: Medicaid Expansion Is In Nebraska's Best Interest, Deserves Voter Approval
Nebraska voters this fall have an important opportunity to extend health insurance to the state’s working poor. That opportunity, in the form of Initiative 427, can bring significant benefits to Nebraska.Approval of Initiative 427, expanding Medicaid to 90,000 low-income Nebraskans, would greatly improve their quality of health care, shifting from high-cost emergency treatment toward lower-cost preventive care. (10/28)
Great Falls Tribune: Montana Needs To Continue Medicaid Expansion Beyond 2019 Sunset Date
I’d like to talk a bit about the importance of continuation of Medicaid Expansion (the HELP Act) beyond its scheduled 2019 sunset date. The HELP Act/Medicaid Expansion is simply too important to Montanans (96,000 are covered by Medicaid Expansion in Montana), the state of Montana, and the healthcare industry in Montana (Montana’s No. 1 employer) to not continue. The question will be whether tweaks to the program should be made and how to best fund the state’s 10 percent portion of the cost (the program is 90 percent federally-funded). Those questions are best answered through a bi-partisan, across-the-aisle approach and those bi-partisan discussions need to be occurring now. (John Goodnow, 10/23)
Health Affairs: CMS Approves North Carolina’s Innovative Medicaid Demonstration To Help Improve Health Outcomes
But too often states have been stymied by outdated regulations and rigid federal rules in their efforts to find creative new ways to deliver better care. That’s why we believe that the best thing that CMS can do is create a fertile ground for states to fulfill their role as the laboratories of innovation in Medicaid policy. To do this, we’ve expanded opportunities for states to seek demonstrations to test new and exciting reforms. Today, I’m pleased to announce another example of that commitment through our approval of North Carolina’s innovative Medicaid reform demonstration. Through this demonstration, North Carolina will shift their program toward one that delivers better value with a more predictable budget through the transition from fee-for-service to a managed care delivery system. (Seema Verma, 10/24)
Bloomberg: Health-Care Costs Are Still Eating The U.S. Economy
Health-care costs are not as much in the news nowadays as they used to be. A big reason might be that cost growth has slowed in recent years. Between 1967 and 2007, per-capita health care costs rose at an average of 2.36 percent a year. Since then, it’s only been about 1.31 percent.That’s actually not such great news. Health-care costs as a percentage of the economy have continued to rise: (Noah Smith, 10/29)
Arizona Republic: Martha McSally Hurt Those With Pre-Existing Conditions? Not Exactly
Democrats are charging that Martha McSally, and other Republicans, want to eliminate Obamacare protections for those with pre-existing conditions. The charge is not entirely groundless. But it is fundamentally misleading – in a way symptomatic of the general unwillingness of Democrats, including Kyrsten Sinema, to level with the American people about a tough decision to be made. (Robert Robb, 10/26)
