Investigation Of Iowa Medicaid Program Finds After Denial Of Care, Enrollees Face Endless Appeals
The Des Moines Register reviews 200 cases appealed to Iowa administrative law judges by Medicaid recipients who say they have been unfairly denied medical care since the state turned over management of the $4.8 billion program to for-profit companies in April 2016. In other Medicaid news, an effort by a Virginia lawmaker to get a rural hospital reopened fails after it gets snarled in the bitter fight over Medicaid expansion, Republican lawmakers in Kansas raise some objections to Gov. Sam Brownback's plans and other developments around the country.
Des Moines Register:
Care Denied: How Iowa's Medicaid Maze Is Trapping Sick And Elderly Patients In Endless Appeals
[M]ore than 200 cases [have been] appealed to Iowa administrative law judges by Medicaid recipients who say they have been unfairly denied medical care since the state turned over management of the $4.8 billion program to for-profit companies in April 2016. A Des Moines Register investigation into those 200 cases found an appeal process that presents a thicket of administrative and legal roadblocks to patients and their families, who must clear hurdle after hurdle to secure care. (Clayworth and Powers, 1/15)
Des Moines Register:
Reynolds Assures Review Of Medicaid Appeals After Register Investigation
Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday that Iowa's Medicaid leaders would review hundreds of appeals after a Register investigation revealed "systemic" and sometimes illegal denials of health care. "This is something that’s really important to me and, more importantly, it’s important to Iowans all across the state," Reynolds said Tuesday during her weekly press conference. It will be part of a planned review of Medicaid processes to determine where improvements can be made for patients and providers, Reynolds' staff said. (Clayworth and Pfannenstiel, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
Va. Democrats Kill Hospital Bill After GOP Senator Rebuffs Them On Medicaid
Democrats trying to pressure a Republican state senator into supporting Medicaid expansion made good on a threat Tuesday to kill a bill intended to help a shuttered hospital in his poor Southwest Virginia district. The move inflamed tensions just as the bipartisan honeymoon for newly inaugurated Gov. Ralph Northam (D) seemed to be drawing to an abrupt end. (Vozzella, 1/16)
Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Virginia Hospitals Want Proposed Tax On Profits Out Of Budget In Push To Expand Medicaid
Leaders of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association said they do not support a proposal for most acute-care hospitals in the state to pay a provider assessment on net patient revenue to cover the state’s share of expanding health coverage to more than 300,000 uninsured Virginians through its Medicaid program. ...However, the association said it would consider a provider assessment as legislation outside of the budget that would include protections in state code to ensure that any money generated by the tax is used only to help hospitals cover the costs of uncompensated care, bolster struggling hospitals in rural areas and help pay for graduate medical education. (Martz, 1/16)
Roanoke (Va.) Times:
Senate Democrats Kill Patrick County Hospital Bill Over Medicaid Expansion Fight
The emergency legislation by [Sen. Bill] Stanley, R-Franklin, would retroactively extend the hospital’s license for a year, paving the way for the hospital to reopen after closing in September. The emergency legislation by Stanley, R-Franklin, would retroactively extend the hospital’s license for a year, paving the way for the hospital to reopen after closing in September. Instead of requiring a simple majority in the Senate, emergency legislation requires support from 80 percent of the chamber, or 32 of the 40 senators. Republicans hold 21 seats in the body and the measure failed on a 30-10 vote. (Forman, 1/16)
KCUR:
Republican Opposition To KanCare 2.0 Echoing Democratic Gripes On Privatized Medicaid
A push by the Brownback administration to keep turning to private firms to run its Medicaid program for years to come faces resistance from key Republican lawmakers. Those legislators have signaled they want existing problems repaired with KanCare — particularly application backlogs, delays in provider payments and disputes over services for Kansans with disabilities. Only then should the state go ahead with Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to launch KanCare 2.0 and its new lifetime limits, work requirements and other policy changes. (McLean, 1/16)
The CT Mirror:
Malloy Vetoes Medicare Program Fix, Calls It ‘Wishful’ Budgeting
In a largely symbolic act, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed a bipartisan bill Monday to reverse cuts to the Medicare Savings Program, calling it an unbalanced exercise in “wishful thinking” that only would worsen projected budget deficits. Malloy, who already had deferred any restrictions to the Medicare program until June 30, has acknowledged legislators probably will override his veto. (Phaneuf, 1/16)
Bozeman (Mt.) Daily Chronicle:
Health Providers Begin To Feel Weight Of Medicaid Cuts
Health providers serving Montanans with low incomes are feeling the ripple of state budget cuts this month. Bozeman workers say the result will be fewer options for people who need care. Starting Jan. 1, the Montana health department reduced how much the state pays Medicaid providers by nearly 3 percent. The cuts are the product of a year of funding uncertainty as lawmakers debated how to stabilize Montana’s budget. (Houghton, 1/17)
