Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fla. Senate Panel To Consider Controversial Medicaid Expansion Plan
Tampa Bay Times: Florida Senate To Consider Medicaid Expansion Proposal
A Senate committee will consider a controversial plan Tuesday that would extend federally subsidized health insurance to more than 800,000 poor Floridians — but require a waiver from the federal government to pay for it. The proposal (SPB 7044) would establish a state-run private insurance exchange available to Florida residents who earn less than $16,000 in annual income, or $33,000 for a family of four. Beneficiaries would be required to work or attend school, and pay monthly premiums. (McGrory, 3/9)
Alaska Public Radio: Senate Republicans Preview Medicaid Reform Bill
Senator Pete Kelly, a Fairbanks Republican, previewed a bill he is planning to introduce this week to reform the current Medicaid system. He said the bill won’t include a provision to expand Medicaid, he said during a press conference this morning. A group of Anchorage religious leaders and lay people are in Juneau to try to convince him and other skeptical lawmakers to change their minds on the issue. (Feidt, 3/9)
Helena Independent Record: Dems Rip Republicans For Stuffing Medicaid-Expansion Bill Last Week, But Don’T Try To Revive It
Legislative Democrats Monday blasted Republicans for killing Gov. Steve Bullock’s Medicaid-expansion proposal in committee last Friday night, saying procedural rules were violated -- but stopped short of trying to overturn the action on the House floor. House Minority Leader Chuck Hunter, D-Helena, rose on the floor to object to a committee report killing the Medicaid-expansion bill, saying Republicans on the House Human Services Committee improperly voted before Democrats could debate or amend the bill. (Dennison, 3/9)
Helena Independent Record: GOP: Medicaid Expansion Will Cost State More Than $100M Per Biennium After 2020
Supporters of Medicaid expansion in Montana aren’t being honest about its long-term cost to the state, which is more than $50 million a year by 2021, a Republican state senator says. “It’s dishonest to the public … to portray that Medicaid expansion will save the state money,” said Sen. Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville. Thomas, who has been working on GOP alternatives to Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s proposal to expand Medicaid, said accepting federal money now for a full expansion to cover up to 70,000 low-income Montanans will mean growing additional costs for the state in the long term. (Dennison, 3/9)
Salt Lake Tribune: Senate, House Still Hoping For Compromise On Medicaid Expansion
Capitol Hill leaders are talking compromise on health care. Lawmakers said Monday they're hopeful, even as the clock winds down on the 2015 legislative session, that the Senate and governor can strike a compromise with the House over Medicaid expansion. House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, said he wants to reach "common ground" with the Senate. "The time frame is dwindling," he said. "But there is still time." (Moulton, 3/9)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Transition From Healthy PA To Medicaid To Start Sept. 1
The thousands of Pennsylvanians who are now receiving subsidized health coverage though former Gov. Tom Corbett’s “Healthy PA” program will be transferred to the state’s traditional Medicaid plan by Sept. 1, according to the state Department of Human Services. There will be no gaps in coverage during the shift, the department said. (Toland, 3/10)
The Denver Post: Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Officials Clash Over Medicaid Role
Medicaid patients enrolling through the state health insurance exchange are taking too much of its resources, exchange board members said Monday, but state officials propose an even tighter partnership. The federal policy of "no wrong door" was meant to be a single online portal for the uninsured that would seamlessly determine their eligibility for either Medicaid or private insurance with tax subsidies they purchased on the exchange. (Draper, 3/9)
Health News Colorado: Exchange Board Orders Audit While Governor Launches Talks Between Exchange, Medicaid Managers
Millions in new cost overruns and escalating finger-pointing between Colorado’s Medicaid bosses and health exchange managers spurred the exchange board on Monday to vote for its own “end-to-end” audit, while the governor’s office is launching a new round of talks between top officials. (Kerwin McCrimmon, 3/9)
The Oregonian: Cover Oregon Director Aaron Patnode Won't Be Hired By State As Health Exchange Dissolves
As Cover Oregon goes away under a bill signed last week, so will the job of Aaron Patnode, the executive director hired last summer to put the health insurance exchange's troubles behind it. (Budnick, 3/9)
