Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How The Medicaid Battle Is Far From Over: Despite Some Red States Embracing Limited Expansion, Others Dig In Their Heels
Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Expansion And Funding Face Threats In Several States
Medicaid expansion and funding face serious political challenges in several Western and Great Plains states, following expansion ballot initiatives and legislative and gubernatorial elections in those states. In two states, Republican elected officials have pushed to limit and delay expansions to low-income adults that were approved by voters in November. A third state where voters passed an expansion ballot initiative is moving to implement it. Meanwhile, existing Medicaid expansions in two other states are under threat from GOP leaders. (Meyer, 2/19)
Georgia Health News: Senate Panel Backs Waiver Bill To Insure More Georgians
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed legislation Tuesday to allow Gov. Brian Kemp to pursue health care waivers from the federal government. The panel’s 9-4 vote came after Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson (D-Stone Mountain) sought to open up the bill’s Medicaid waiver request to cover more Georgians. (Miller, 2/19)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Senate Panel Backs Health Care Waiver Bill
Georgia’s Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday passed a bill to give the governor power to shape two programs that could improve access to government-funded health care for more Georgians. The measure, Senate Bill 106, passed the committee on a 9-4 vote, with mostly Republicans voting against the Democratic minority. (Hart, 2/19)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Announces Record $236M Medicaid Fraud Settlement
The State of Texas announced Tuesday it had settled a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against one of its largest private contractors over what state and federal regulators claimed was a scheme that caused taxpayers to pay for thousands of unnecessary children’s dental and orthodontic procedures over nearly a decade. Attorney General Ken Paxton said Xerox Corporation - through a division it later spun off as Conduent Business Services - will pay the state $236 million to settle all of Texas’s claims against it. In the settlement, the company did not admit any wrongdoing. (Dexheimer, 2/19)
