Kansas Hospitals Continue Push For Medicaid Expansion
Despite the re-election of Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican who has been opposed to the health law's expansion of the low-income health insurance program, hospitals hope to advance a plan to state legislators. Also in the news, a new report says Florida hospitals will lose billions of dollars as a result of that state's decision not to pursue the expansion.
Kansas Health Institute News Service:
Kansas Hospitals Pressing Ahead With Medicaid Expansion
Kansas hospitals are moving ahead with plans to put a Medicaid expansion plan before lawmakers despite election results that returned Gov. Sam Brownback to office and solidified conservatives’ control of the Legislature. Democrat Paul Davis favored expansion but came up short in his bid to upset Brownback, a Republican who thus far has opposed expansion. Also, several Democratic House members who likely would have favored expansion lost narrowly to GOP challengers. (McLean, 11/10)
The Miami Herald:
Florida Hospitals Could Lose Billions Without Medicaid Expansion, Group Warns
Florida legislators’ refusal to expand the eligibility criteria for Medicaid as called for under the Affordable Care Act might cost billions of dollars in lost funding for hospitals that treat many uninsured patients, according to a report released Monday by Florida Legal Services, a nonprofit legal advocate for the poor. The financial impact would be felt most acutely by so-called “safety net” hospitals statewide, and in Miami-Dade, particularly by the taxpayer-owned Jackson Health System, according to Florida Legal, which estimated that Jackson could lose more than $570 million a year. (Chang, 11/10)
Elsewhere, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is continuing discussions with the Obama administration -
The Associated Press:
Haslam Says Federal Medicaid Discussions Ongoing
Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday he's continuing to talk with Washington so he can make a decision about Medicaid expansion in Tennessee before the legislative session starts in January. Haslam told reporters following a veterans' ceremony that he talked to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell last week, and even brought up the subject when President Barack Obama called him Tuesday night to congratulate him on his election win. (Johnson, 11/10)
The Tennessean:
Mother Pleads For Medicaid Expansion On Behalf Of Dead Daughter
[Michele] Fardan walked up to a microphone in front of the Tennessee Capitol on Monday and told how her daughter delayed getting medical care because she didn’t have insurance and died. ... She spoke at a rally for Medicaid expansion attended by about 60 people, several of them holding up big signs, some with clever rhymes such as “Close the Haslam Chasm.” There also was a book with 47,250 signatures asking Gov. Bill Haslam to take action on the health care coverage gap. (Wilemon, 11/10)
