In Closed Door Session, Alaska Lawmakers Proceed With Lawsuit To Block Governor’s Medicaid Expansion

Alaska Dispatch News: Alaska Legislative Committee Allows Medicaid Lawsuit To Proceed
The Alaska Legislature’s lawsuit to block Gov. Bill Walker’s Medicaid expansion will continue in state Superior Court after a House-Senate committee met behind closed doors Monday to discuss the litigation, but declined to stop it with a public vote. “Personally, I don’t believe that litigation is a productive course of action,” Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, said after the Joint Legislative Council meeting. “However, as I look at the passion on both sides of this issue, no one is going to be satisfied until litigation is complete.” That could take up two years, he said. (Hanlon, 9/28)

KTUU: Lawmakers Meet Privately To Discuss Medicaid Lawsuit
State lawmakers met privately Monday to discuss whether or not the Medicaid expansion lawsuit filed against Governor Bill Walker should move forward. Members of the legislative council convened until noon Monday in a closed-door executive session at the Anchorage Legislative Information Offices. There, they consulted with attorneys from Washington DC-based law firm Bancroft PLLC. “There's not enough certainty one way or another to go forward with the lawsuit or to dismiss the lawsuit,” House Speaker Mike Chenault told KTUU. (Baird, 9/28)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Weigh Options For Expanding Neb. Medicaid
A new coalition of Nebraska lawmakers is considering options for expanding Medicaid coverage that could be approved by the Legislature, which has rejected similar measures three times in as many years. Supporters of the effort quietly convened last week for a listening session to hear concerns and questions about Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act from fellow lawmakers. They also are reaching out to chambers of commerce and hospital groups for evidence of the potential business effect on Nebraska. A second listening session is scheduled for October. Leading the effort is state Sen. John McCollister of Omaha, the former director of an Omaha think tank that staunchly opposes Medicaid expansion. (9/29)

The Associated Press: South Dakota Proposes Plan To Expand Medicaid
South Dakota may join 30 other states in expanding its Medicaid program if federal officials approve a plan Gov. Dennis Daugaard is set to outline to the nation's top health and human services administrator in Washington on Tuesday. The Republican governor is meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to explain the plan, and the federal government has so far been more open to discussions than in the past, said Tony Venhuizen, chief of staff to Daugaard. The proposal, which is in its early stages, would make about 48,500 South Dakota residents newly eligible for the program. ... The proposal pays for the state's share of the expansion in part by expanding access to services that are fully funded by the federal government, with the goal of freeing up enough state funding to pay for the addition of more residents to the Medicaid program. Officials are focusing on people who are eligible for Medicaid but can get services through the Indian Health Service. The goal is make services through the Indian Health Service more accessible so that people don't have to go an outside health care provider, which can happen if the IHS is unable to offer a specific service. (Nord, 9/28)

New Orleans Times Picayune: Blueprint Louisiana Wants Transportation, Health Care Reforms As Part Of Election Agenda
The citizen-based group Blueprint Louisiana has released an election-year agenda designed to push for four key reforms the group wants the new governor and legislators to take on next year. ... This is the third election-year agenda the group has released since forming in 2006. The group's secretary, Clay Allen, described the state as in the middle of "a fiscal nightmare and a detrimental cycle of budget deficits." He added that the group is supporting both fixing the transportation backlog and Medicaid expansion. "It seems clear-cut to us that the state should step up and accept the federal health care dollars that are rightfully Louisiana's," Allen said, "which not only helps patients and providers but also provides some relief tot he budget." (Litten, 9/28)