Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Efforts To Expand Medicaid Gaining Ground Slowly In Southern, Western States
Stateline: More States Lean Toward Medicaid Expansion
In the weeks after the election, governors in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming asked lawmakers to approve detailed proposals for expanding the federal-state health plan for low-income adults, in some cases restarting previous efforts to seek approval for expansion. In a smaller group of states in the South – Alabama, North Carolina and Texas – governors said for the first time they were open to the idea of expanding Medicaid. Other than Arkansas, no Southern state has expanded Medicaid. If all six states now considering expansion plans win federal approval, more than 600,000 additional people could be eligible for Medicaid coverage. (Vestal, 1/28)
The Associated Press: Lawmakers Push Mead Administration's Medicaid Expansion Bill
Some Wyoming lawmakers are pushing an alternative to a pending Medicaid expansion bill that critics say would risk rejection by federal regulators. State Sen. Michael Von Flatern, R-Casper, and three other Republican lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill that would expand the federal Medicaid program in Wyoming by following a plan endorsed by the administration of Gov. Matt Mead. (Neary, 1/27)
The Associated Press: 43,000 Oregonians Waiting In Medicaid Application Backlog
About 43,000 low-income Oregonians are waiting for their Medicaid applications to be fully processed, state health officials say. The Oregon Health Authority says some of the applications came through the federal government's portal and have been determined eligible for benefits but have not been entered in the state's system; others are still incomplete and stuck in limbo. (1/27)
