Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Officials Turn Down Ohio's Efforts To Revamp Rules For Medicaid Expansion Program
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Feds Reject Ohio Plan To Charge Fees To Medicaid Beneficiaries
A plan to make Ohio Medicaid beneficiaries pay monthly fees into a health savings account and block coverage for missed payments was rejected by the feds. The proposal, dubbed the "Healthy Ohio Program," would have required about 1.6 million Ohioans in the state- and federally-run Medicaid health insurance program to pay into a health savings account. (Borchardt, 9/9)
Columbus Dispatch: Feds Block Ohio's Attempt To Charge New Medicaid Fees
GOP legislative leaders tucked the proposal into last year’s state budget despite cautions from administration officials that it contained provisions never before approved by the federal government and pleas from advocates for the poor that thousands would lose coverage. If approved, Ohio would have been the first state to drop people with incomes below 100 percent of poverty, that’s $11,770 a year for an individual, from coverage for failing to pay a premium or contribution to a health savings account. (Candisky, 9/9)
Morning Consult: Administration Rejects Ohio’s Plan To Overhaul Medicaid
While the Obama administration has worked with some Republican states to incorporate more conservative ideals to the program in exchange for increasing the pool of people eligible for the program, the administration has been against charging premiums regardless of a person’s income level. Ohio has already expanded Medicaid, but said the change would save nearly $1 billion. (McIntire, 9/9)
AL.com: Alabama Lawmakers Prop Up Medicaid With Another Short-Term Fix
State lawmakers found a new source of dollars to help pay for the rising cost of Medicaid during the special session that ended Wednesday. But like others they've tapped before, it's temporary. Gov. Robert Bentley said he has ideas about where to turn next, but was not specific. ... Medicaid, by far the largest spender of General Fund dollars, has estimated it will need $865 million in 2018 and $895 million in 2019. That's up from the $785 million request for 2017, which lawmakers were not able to fulfill until passing the BP bill. (Cason, 9/9)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois To Expand Access To Hepatitis C Drugs, But Not All Medicaid Patients Qualify
The state of Illinois has backed off a 2-year-old policy that allowed only its sickest residents with hepatitis C who rely on the traditional Medicaid program to get disease-curing drugs. The policy change, announced Friday evening, means Illinois residents on Medicaid with stage 3 liver scarring — not just the sickest patients with stage 4 liver scarring — will be able to access the drugs. If left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to liver failure, cancer and even death. (Schencker, 9/10)
Houston Chronicle: Judge: Texas Violated Medicaid Reimbursement Rules
Texas violated federal Medicaid regulations when it failed to pay medical providers for emergency care for indigent children that was not approved in advance, a Houston federal judge has ruled. As state officials continued Friday to weigh their options on an appeal, children's health care advocates said the decision could prove important for health care providers struggling for years with low reimbursement rates and payment delays. (Ward and Banks, 9/9)
NPR: A Good Dentist Is Hard To Find In Rural America
A study by the Federal Reserve found that a quarter of Americans went without dental care they needed in 2014 because they couldn't afford it. For those in rural areas, the problem is far worse. A 2015 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that people in rural areas are poorer and less likely to have dental insurance than their urban counterparts. They're also less likely to have fluoridated water, and more likely to live in an area where dentists are in short supply. Those dentists that are there probably don't take Medicaid, government health insurance for the poor. (Kodjak, 9/12)
