Indiana Begins Ads For Expanded Medicaid Program
Also in news on health law implementation in the states, Georgia officials are at odds about the state's ability to expand Medicaid and one paper examines how North Carolina might react if the Supreme Court strikes down premium subsidies for people who buy health plans on the federal government's marketplace.
The Associated Press:
Ad Campaign Starting For Expanded Healthy Indiana Plan
A state agency is about to launch an advertising campaign to encourage enrollment in Indiana's expanded health care program for low-income residents. The $2 million campaign for the new Healthy Indiana Plan starts Monday with television, radio, online, newspaper and billboard ads. Its focus will include highlighting health services such as cancer screenings or preventive dental care that people without health insurance often don't receive. ... Indiana's expanded program uses federal Medicaid funding under President Barack Obama's health care law to cover those in household with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or an annual income of just less than $33,000 for a family of four. (6/11)
Georgia Health News:
Reese: 'Waiver' Doesn't Need New Legislative OK
The head of a state health agency reiterated his position Thursday that Georgia already has the authority now to pursue a Medicaid “waiver” plan to cover uninsured people. That statement by Clyde Reese, commissioner of the Department of Community Health, runs counter to arguments made in a recent letter from Rep. Jason Spencer and other state legislators. ... Spencer, a Woodbine Republican, has raised questions about a plan proposed by Grady Health System that would request a special 1115 waiver, an experimental plan that the feds approve to give states flexibility to improve their Medicaid programs by using a new approach. (Miller, 6/11)
The Charlotte Observer:
Is NC Ready For This Month's ACA Ruling? Report Says No
Even with almost half a million residents’ health coverage at stake, North Carolina has done little to prepare for the possibility that the Supreme Court could end Affordable Care Act subsidies this month, a report from Health Affairs Blog says. “As late as March 2015, many legislators were unaware that subsidies were at risk. Awareness of the issue has percolated within the legislature following oral arguments in King, but legislators have not publicly discussed contingency plans,” five authors wrote this week. “As Governor McCrory recently said, ‘There’s no B plan by either the federal government or the states.’" (Helms, 6/11)