Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Medicaid Officials Extend $3.1B Texas Hospital Funding Temporarily
The Associated Press: Feds Give Texas Temporary Extension Of $3.1B Medicaid Waiver
Texas announced Monday that the federal government had approved its request for a temporary extension of a $3.1 billion annual Medicaid waiver — despite the Republican-controlled Legislature's refusal to embrace a key component of the White House's signature health care law. (Weissert, 5/2)
The Texas Tribune: Texas, Feds Agree To Renew Short-Term Medicaid Funds
The Obama administration has agreed to temporarily keep some federal Medicaid money flowing into Texas to help hospitals treat uninsured patients, a relief to health care providers that feared losing the funds over state leaders' refusal to provide health insurance to low-income adults. (Walters, 5/2)
The Houston Chronicle: Feds Extend Medicaid Funding For Texas
Texas will not feel the federal government's wrath for refusing to expand Medicaid, at least until 2018, thanks to a deal announced Monday that will allow health care providers to temporarily continue to receive billions of dollars in federal funding that many feared would be cut off. (Rosenthal, 5/2)
The Austin American-Statesman: Texas Health Officials Relieved As State Gets Medicaid Extension
Texas health care providers that have relied on a $29 billion federal Medicaid program to help pay for care to the needy will see it extended 15 months, until the end of next year. The state announced the decision Monday as hospitals and others hailed the news, saying the five-year program has provided crucial support — $3.1 billion a year — for offsetting the cost of care to low-income Texans. It also has injected a similar amount into projects aimed at finding better ways to deliver care, potentially at a lower cost. (Roser, 5/2)
Dallas Morning News: Texas, Obama Administration Pause Battle Over Medicaid, Extend Deal That Helps Parkland
A pact between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission gives the state more time to study and show that the state’s decision not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act isn’t aided because it uses federally subsidized emergency room care to help patients who’d be eligible for coverage. Specifically, Texas has hired outside consultants to analyze the ways that poor state residents are getting health care. They’ll look at whether some are relying on emergency-room care that could’ve been paid for if the state offered the insurance program to certain low-income adults of working age. (Garrett, 5/2)
The Hill: HHS, Texas Reach Deal That Delays Medicaid Debate
The Obama administration has raised the possibility of reducing this funding so that it does not cover care that would be covered if the state expanded Medicaid. That is, the administration says giving people insurance in the first place through Medicaid is a better system than reimbursing hospitals for caring for uninsured people. (Sullivan, 5/2)
