Gov. Herbert Expresses Cautious Optimism About Utah’s Medicaid Expansion Plan
He also says some changes need to be made in the latest version of the expansion.
Deseret News:
Gov. Herbert Says Latest Medicaid Expansion Plan May Need Changes
Gov. Gary Herbert said Monday there may need to be changes made to the latest Medicaid expansion plan he and legislative leaders came up with after months of private meetings. "There are concerns I have about it. There's nothing that's perfect," the governor told the Deseret News. He said, however, that shouldn't prevent action on a plan to provide health care coverage to low-income Utahns. (Riley Roche, 10/5)
Fox13 (Salt Lake City):
Gov. Herbert Weighs In On New Medicaid Expansion Proposal
Gov. Gary Herbert weighed in on a new plan that would expand Medicaid to Utah’s poor and uninsured. He expressed cautious optimism that something would get done for thousands of Utahns waiting for Medicaid coverage. During an interview at FOX 13 News studio Monday, Herbert summed up his strategy sessions with fellow governors and health care leaders at the National Governor’s Association retreat in Salt Lake City over the weekend. ... The governor said this plan could be a tough sell to House Republicans. (Vaifanua, 10/5)
Also in the news, developments related to state exchanges and health insurance co-ops -
The Denver Post:
Colorado Health Cooperative Says Feds Reneged On Promised Payment
Colorado's nonprofit health cooperative says its future has been jeopardized by an unexpectedly low payment from a federal program intended to help more people acquire health insurance. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed health cooperatives nationwide Thursday that a "risk corridor" plan, one of three programs meant to help insurance companies widen their coverage nets, was short of money. (Olinger, 10/5)
The Des Moines Register:
Wellmark To Sell Policies On Obamacare Exchange For 2017
Iowa’s dominant health insurer has agreed to start selling policies a year from now that qualify for Obamacare subsidies. Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield has not participated in the Affordable Care Act’s online health insurance marketplace, which launched in the fall of 2013. The main effect of the company’s decision was that moderate-income Iowans could not choose Wellmark insurance if they wanted to purchase policies that qualified for new federal subsidies to help pay premiums. (Leys, 10/5)
