Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Iowans Being Denied For Medical Devices In What Critics See As Latest Failure Of Privatized Medicaid System
Des Moines Register: Privatized Medicaid Denies Equipment To Hundreds Of Disabled Iowans
Hundreds of disabled Iowans are being denied the medical devices they need, including wheelchairs, shower stools and even nutritional supplements, by private Medicaid providers that routinely refuse to pay for them, the Des Moines Register has found. The casualties are patients like 4-year-old Tatum Woods of Vinton, Iowa, who for nearly six months was forced to crawl because a private Medicaid provider said it would pay less than a fifth of the cost of his $3,500 customized walker. (Clayworth, 4/8)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Lawmakers Stake Out Positions On State's Privatized Medicaid Woes
There's a lot of politics entangled in Iowa's privatized Medicaid problems. Since then-Gov. Terry Branstad first proposed transferring management of the state’s Medicaid program to for-profit companies, back in April 2016, Democrats and Republicans have staked out positions on the wisdom of the plan. Since then, Iowa's privatized Medicaid program has come under fire for failing to do right by the state's 680,000 poor or disabled patients. (Clayworth, 4/8)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Mom Takes On Medicaid To Fight For Her Dying Son — And Wins
Lisa Begner was told last year if her 5-year-old son, Boone, did not have his second open heart surgery soon, he would die. For five months, Begner and her son's medical team reached out to his Iowa Medicaid provider, Amerigroup, to get approval for the surgery. ... A Des Moines Register investigation of 200 appeals by Medicaid patients revealed systemic and sometimes illegal denials of health care. Patients told the Register of an appeal process riddled with administrative and legal roadblocks to patients and their families. (Norvell, 4/6)
In Medicaid news from Colorado and Maryland —
Denver Post: Federal Audit Raps Colorado's $10B Medicaid Program For Poor Safeguards Against Fraud, Abuse
Colorado officials vowed to improve oversight of the managed-care portion of the state’s $10 billion Medicaid program after a federal audit found poor safeguards against waste, fraud and abuse. Federal regulators reviewed the state’s supervision of managed care programs that subcontract with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to provide care to patients. (Osher, 4/7)
The Baltimore Sun: Dental Care Could Be Covered For Some Maryland Medicaid Recipients Under Bill Passed By General Assembly
Some adults who are insured under Maryland's Medicaid program could soon be covered for routine dental care for the first time under a pilot program the General Assembly approved Saturday. For now, Medicaid only covers dental care for children and emergency room dental care for adults. In January, lawmakers had proposed expanding dental coverage to all adults on Medicaid, but the legislation was pared back to instead test the policy with the pilot program. (Dance, 4/7)
