Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Disruptions To Medicaid Coverage When Recipients Are In Jail Creates Vicious Cycle Upon Release
CNN: The High Cost Of Taking Away Prisoners' Medicaid Coverage
For Lori Stone, getting out of prison has always been a little nerve-racking. She's been in and out of jail since she was 18. Every time she's been released, she's lost her disability benefits and her Medicaid coverage. That meant she couldn't afford her rent or her medication for her bipolar disorder until she was able to re-enroll, which could take weeks or months -- even if she went to all her appointments on time. "That would put me into a bad spell of being depressed, and my moods would be bad," says Stone, 37, over the phone from the Douglas County Jail in Omaha, Nebraska. "And then I would end up doing something stupid like shoplifting to get alcohol. It's just a vicious cycle." (DePillis, 4/18)
In other Medicaid news —
Politico Pro: Trump Challenges Native Americans’ Historic Standing
Native Americans say they should be exempt from Medicaid work requirements, which tribes say put their health at risk and threaten their centuries-old relationship with the U.S. government. The Trump administration disagrees. The dispute hangs on a question with ramifications far beyond health benefits. Are the tribes a racial group seeking preferences, or do they have special status as a separate government with protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution? (Diamond, 4/18)
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Medicaid Recipients May Be Forced To Work Under New Bill
Familiar fault lines formed Wednesday when the Senate’s Michigan Competitiveness Committee voted to require many Medicaid recipients to work. Republicans aligned with the business community in supporting the bill, which passed on a 4-1 vote, while Democrats and social service groups roundly criticized the bill as both onerous for the state Health Department and punitive against a vulnerable population in the state. (Gray, 4/18)
Modern Healthcare: Illinois' Rauner Stops Sending Medicaid Patients To Blue Cross
The Rauner administration has cut off Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois from enrolling patients in the state's revamped Medicaid managed-care program, a blow to the dominant insurer. The Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services, which oversees Medicaid, stopped enrollment to Blue Cross on April 11 and imposed a $150,000 fine, according to recent letters between HFS and Blue Cross. HFS levied the penalties for two reasons: Blue Cross' network of doctors and hospitals around the state doesn't provide enough access for patients, and the Chicago-based insurer failed to address a backlog of grievances and appeals from its enrollees. (Schorsch, 4/18)
