Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Georgia Can Partially Expand Medicaid With Work Requirements, Premiums
Modern Healthcare: CMS Approves Georgia's Partial Medicaid Expansion With Work Requirement
The federal government approved Georgia's plan to partially expand Medicaid to an additional 65,000 adults on the condition that they work, job-train, volunteer or pursue education for at least 80 hours a month. CMS on Thursday green-lighted Georgia's five-year 1115 demonstration waiver, titled Georgia Pathways to Coverage, to extend Medicaid coverage to uninsured Georgians who are between ages 19 and 64 with incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level, which is about $12,760 for a single-person household. (Livingston, 10/15)
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Georgia Obamacare: Kemp’s Health Care Waivers Win Federal Approval
Within three years, hundreds of thousands of Georgians with individual health insurance plans may see noticeable drops in their premiums: 25% or more for higher-income rural residents, perhaps 4% for Atlantans. At the same time, the 400,000 Georgians who bought individual health insurance plans on the federal healthcare.gov Affordable Care Act shopping website will find they can’t do that anymore. Instead they will be directed to contact information for private brokers or insurance companies. (Hart, 8/15)
Georgia Public Broadcasting: Breaking Down Georgia’s Waiver Plans After Capitol Ceremony
Because of those restrictions, Georgia officials have estimated that about 50,000 people will get coverage through Pathways. Critics, including many Democrats, note that this number is just a fraction of the 500,000 who would get coverage through a standard Medicaid expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). Medicaid expansion has been adopted by 38 states but has consistently been rejected by Georgia’s Republican-led government, whose leaders say it would be too costly. (Miller, 10/15)
In Medicaid news from other states —
St. Louis Post Dispatch: In Missouri, Cost Of Medicaid Expansion Remains A Mystery
When Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced he was moving a statewide vote on Medicaid expansion to the August primary, he said he wanted the vote to happen as fast as possible to help officials deal with potential cost increases. The governor, who opposed the ballot initiative, denied his use of his executive power was an attempt to defeat the proposal by moving it to the lower turnout primary election. “This was about policy, not politics,” Parson said at the time. But now, more than two months after voters approved the expansion by a 53-47 margin, state budget writers appear to be no closer to determining how much the expansion will cost. (Erickson, 10/15)
The Oklahoman: Oklahoma Takes First Step To Outsource Care For Most Medicaid Recipients
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority on Thursday took initial steps toward privatizing health care for many of the state’s poorest residents. The agency that oversees the state’s Medicaid program published two requests for proposals seeking for-profit companies to oversee medical and dental spending for 773,794 of the state's nearly 1 million Medicaid recipients. (Forman, 10/15)
And more on CMS and Medicare —
Modern Healthcare: Federal Judges Seem To Support CMS Hospital Transparency Rule
Three federal appellate judges on Thursday appeared likely to uphold the Trump administration's hospital price transparency rule, which is scheduled to go into effect in January. The panel aggressively, and at times incredulously, questioned hospitals' arguments as to why the rule should be deemed unconstitutional. The criticism indicated that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit may follow in the footsteps of a district court judge who upheld the rule. (Cohrs, 10/16)
Fox Business: Walmart Now Offering Medicare Plans As Election Season Heats Up
America’s largest retailer, Walmart, is adding Medicare health insurance plans to its plethora of in-store offerings -- just in time for the start of this year’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for the federal program. Although this is not Walmart’s first foray into the business of healthcare, the launch of “Walmart Insurance Services,” a licensed insurance brokerage, aims to build on its endeavors to “simplify what’s historically been a cumbersome, confusing process,” according to a press release. Through the new program, Walmart will offer health services at low, transparent prices to those 65 and older, as well as younger people with certain disabilities who qualify now until the enrollment period ends Dec. 7. (Park, 10/15)
