Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
For Many Low-Income Americans Medicaid Isn't Free. It's A Loan And The Government Expects To Be Paid Back.
The Atlantic: Medicaid Debt Can Cost You Your House
The folded American flag from her father’s military funeral is displayed on the mantel in Tawanda Rhodes’s living room. Joseph Victorian, a descendant of Creole slaves, had enlisted in the Army 10 days after learning that the United States was going to war with Korea. After he was wounded in combat, Joseph was stationed at a military base in Massachusetts. There he met and fell in love with Edna Smith-Rhodes, a young woman who had recently moved to Boston from North Carolina. The couple started a family and eventually settled in the brick towers of the Columbia Point housing project. Joseph took a welding job at a shipyard and pressed laundry on the side; later, Edna would put her southern cooking skills to use in a school cafeteria. In 1979, Joseph and Edna bought a house in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood for $24,000. (Corbett, 9/11)
The Associated Press: Inspector General Investigates Virginia Medicaid Contract
Virginia's inspector general is investigating a contract worth up to $1.5 million that the state's Medicaid office awarded to a company owned by a former U.S. government employee who helped oversee federal oversight of the state. The Department of Medical Assistance Services said earlier this week that it asked for the investigation to "ensure full transparency." The agency did not say what prompted the request and declined to answer questions. (Suderman, 9/11)
The Associated Press: NC House Speaker Says Medicaid Expansion Bill To Move Again
A Republican version of a proposal to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional working adults in North Carolina will get another look in the state House now that the chamber has voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's budget veto. Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday he anticipates more action on the GOP-written Medicaid measure next week. That's because he says he's keeping his earlier promise to consider expansion after a successful override vote, which occurred Wednesday morning when dozens of Democrats were absent from the House floor. (9/11)
The Associated Press: Michigan Legislature OKs Changes To Medicaid Reporting Rules
Michigan's Legislature has approved a bill that would exempt some Medicaid recipients from having to meet monthly reporting rules if the state can verify their compliance with work requirements through other data. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign the measure that won final passage from the Republican-led Senate Wednesday. (9/11)
The Associated Press: Maryland Woman Convicted Of Felony Medicaid Fraud
The Maryland attorney general’s office says a woman has been convicted of felony Medicaid fraud after claiming that she was providing care for a client with developmental disabilities and autism when she was actually working elsewhere. Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a news release that a judge gave 55-year-old Shelia Vines a suspended three-year sentence, five years’ probation and ordered her to repay the Medicaid program more than $18,900. (9/12)
