Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Insurer Tells Texas Judge That Medicaid Cuts To Therapy Don't Harm Children
The Texas Tribune: Budget Cuts For Therapy Won't Harm Kids, Judge Told
Hefty cuts to a state Medicaid program that pays for poor and disabled Texans to receive in-home therapy won't endanger patient lives or destroy livelihoods, a state district judge was told Tuesday. Coming from a major health insurer that covers foster care youth and children with disabilities, that assertion has added another layer to an already contentious eight-month legal fight over whether Texas has been overpaying companies to provide services like speech, occupational and physical therapy. (Walters, 4/12)
Winston-Salem Journal: DHHS Claims Medicaid Provider Overpayments Is Not Chronic Concern
State health officials dispute a state audit report that claims the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services allowed an estimated $835 million in Medicaid overpayments to doctors and hospitals in 2015. The State Auditor’s Office report, released April 4, cited 14 categories of oversight concerns. It was discussed before the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee for Medicaid and N.C. Health Services on Tuesday. ... The hearing represented the first public back-and-forth between state Auditor Beth Wood and state Health Secretary Rick Brajer. (Craver, 4/13)
The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Medicaid Provider Owes State More Than $2 Million
A Columbus home health-care provider which employed aides with no first-aid certification owes Ohio's Medicaid program more than $2 million in overpayments, according to a state audit released today. (Candisky, 4/12)
Nashville (Tenn.) Public Radio (WPLN): Amid Calls To Expand Medicaid, House Speaker Beth Harwell Announces Plan To Take Smaller Steps
House Speaker Beth Harwell is putting together a task force that will study ways to improve Medicaid in Tennessee, more than a year after lawmakers rejected Gov. Bill Haslam's plan to expand the program. Harwell announced the task force of four Republican lawmakers Tuesday. They're to report back in June with some ideas to improve Medicaid, known in the state as TennCare. (Sisk, 4/12)
