Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Feds Give States $600 Million To Tide Over Children's Coverage Programs
CQ: Growing Number Of States Are Relying On Stopgap CHIP Funding
A growing number of states are relying on leftover federal dollars to keep their Children's Health Insurance Programs afloat since Congress failed to reauthorize funding for the program before it expired at the end of September. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said Thursday that it distributed roughly $600 million to 14 states and territories in October and November as a temporary fix. The money is leftover from previous years of CHIP and is being given out to states as necessary. (Raman, 11/16)
Reuters: Lower Medicaid Fees Linked To Scarcer Primary Care Appointments
When the fees paid to healthcare providers by Medicaid go up, appointments with primary care doctors suddenly become more available to Medicaid beneficiaries – and the opposite happens when fees go down, according to a recent U.S. study. Researchers found that, overall, every $10 change up or down in the Medicaid fees paid to providers led to a 1.7% change in the same direction in the proportion of patients on Medicaid who could secure an appointment with a new doctor. (Platzman Weinstock, 11/16)
Kaiser Health News: Medicaid Expansion Takes A Bite Out Of Medical Debt
As the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress look to scale back Medicaid, many voters and state lawmakers across the country are moving to make it bigger. On Nov. 7, Maine voters approved a ballot measure to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Advocates are looking to follow suit with ballot measures in Utah, Missouri and Idaho in 2018. (Smith, 11/17)
Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal: NC'S Medicaid-Eligible Population Exceeds 2 Million
North Carolina has surpassed the 2 million threshold on enrollees for Medicaid services, state health officials said Tuesday. ... However, Medicaid enrollment is 41,748 less than projected by DHHS in its 2017-18 budget. The enrollment could be more than 2.5 million if the Republican-controlled General Assembly were to approve expanding the state Medicaid program to more than 500,000 residents. A study by Avalere Health, released Tuesday, determined North Carolina will lose out of on $13 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade by not expanding. (Craver, 11/14)
