Idaho Medicaid Expansion Advocates Tweak Plan In Effort To Gain Lawmaker Support
Elsewhere, Missouri veterans groups are joining a push for an expansion of the low-income health insurance program even though its prospects are dim. And, in North Carolina, a key legislator raises questions about any efforts to expand the program.
The Associated Press:
Idaho Group Amends Medicaid Expansion Proposal
An Idaho work group has tweaked its recommendations on expanding Medicaid eligibility in a last-minute effort to make their plan more politically palatable to lawmakers. Work group facilitator Corey Surber says the 15-member group approved a hybrid model Friday. The group had finalized a proposal to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter back in August. However, lawmakers warned the proposal's blanketed support of Medicaid expansion would fail to even be considered when the Republican-controlled Legislature convenes in January. (Kruesi, 11/18)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Veterans Push Missouri Medicaid Expansion, Hospitals Hire New Lobbyist
Though Republican leaders in the Missouri General Assembly have already doused any hopes for Medicaid expansion next year, lobbyist and former U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond is rounding up supporters to push for it. Bond teamed up with state Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, today to announce that Missouri's military veterans organizations support expanding and reforming the joint state and federal health care program for the poor. The uninsured population in Missouri includes more than 50,000 veterans and their family members, according to the statement released by Bond's lobbying firm, Kit Bond Strategies of Columbia, Mo. About half of the veterans and their family members could be eligible for Medicaid if it were expanded, based on a study by the Urban Institute. (Young, 11/18)
Raleigh News & Observer:
Prospects To Expand Medicaid Services In NC Dim For 2015
Any plan Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration presents for expanding Medicaid would have a tough time getting through the state legislature. A key House member said Tuesday it would probably be premature to consider expanding Medicaid next year with the future of the federal health care law uncertain. The Republican-controlled Congress is expected to make changes to the Affordable Care Act, under which states had the option to make more people eligible for the government health insurance program. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case about who is eligible for tax credits under the law. (Bonner, 11/18)
The Winston-Salem Journal:
More Than 100K Residents May Qualify For Health Coverage Through ACA
The impact of the Affordable Care Act is projected to raise the number of North Carolinians qualified for Medicaid by 107,000 to nearly 1.92 million residents, state health officials said Tuesday. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services told legislators of the projected 5.9 percent increase for fiscal year 2014-15 at an oversight committee meeting. (Craver, 11/18)
