Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kansas' Democratic Governor In Talks With State's Republican Leadership Over Expanding Medicaid
Kansas City Star: Kansas Governor ‘Talking’ To Senate GOP Leader On Medicaid
Kansas’s Democratic governor and the Senate Republican leader are discussing Medicaid expansion ahead of the upcoming legislative session in hopes they can reach a deal clearing the way for the state to provide health coverage to tens of thousands of uninsured residents. Gov. Laura Kelly said in an interview with The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle on Thursday that she is in talks with Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, the Overland Park Republican who offered his own expansion plan this fall. Denning’s office later confirmed the discussions. (Shorman, 1/2)
San Antonio Express-News: Texas Leans On Lyft And Uber To Get Medicaid Patients To The Doctor
Each year, a lack of transportation keeps 3.6 million Americans from medical care. But under a new Texas law, some Medicaid patients will be able to take ride-hailing trips to the doctor’s office. Last summer, lawmakers relaxed regulations to shift funds for non-emergency transportation to ride-hailing companies such as Lyft and Uber. So far, only a handful of states are going this route. (Garcia, 1/2)
Meanwhile, CMS Administrator Seema Verma talks one-on-one with KHN —
Kaiser Health News: One-On-One With Trump’s Medicare And Medicaid Chief: Seema Verma
Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare one-on-one interview with Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discussed her views on President Donald Trump’s plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare is struck down by the courts in the future and her thoughts on how the latest “Medicare for All” proposals would affect innovation and access to care. (Varney, 1/3)
Kaiser Health News: Watch: Behind The Troubling Rise Of Uninsured American Kids
More than a million fewer children receive public health insurance now than in December 2017. In some cases, their parents acquired coverage at work. But researchers also see a troubling rise in uninsured children — and say the Trump administration’s policies are partially to blame. (Varney, 1/3)
