Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers In Ohio And Arkansas Give Preliminary Approval To Medicaid Changes
Columbus Dispatch: Ohio House To Keep Expanded Medicaid Open To New Enrollees, But Under Closer Watch
A push by conservatives in the Ohio House to gut Medicaid expansion was rejected Monday by Republican leaders, but they did agree to keep closer tabs on spending before recommending passage of the two-year state budget. The plan to freeze expansion enrollment, which would have dramatically lowered Medicaid rolls over time, was not part of the dozens of budget changes made Monday. (Candisky and Siegel, 5/2)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: House Republicans Want More Restrictions On Medicaid Spending: See Changes To Budget Bill
Ohio Republicans on Monday proposed several restrictions on the state's Medicaid expansion spending but didn't choose to freeze future enrollment, as some conservatives had wanted. An amendment to the state budget bill floating around the Statehouse would have frozen Medicaid to new and returning enrollees. Over time, the freeze would have reduced the number of people covered through the program, state- and federally-funded health insurance for poor and disabled Ohioans. (Borchardt, 5/1)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio GOP Renews Fight Over Medicaid
A new Ohio House proposal would force the Medicaid director to get approval for Medicaid expansion money every six months. To get the money, the director would go before the Controlling Board, a panel of six lawmakers and a Kasich appointee – the same group Kasich leveraged in 2013 when his party would not move the Medicaid expansion portion of Obamacare through the Legislature. (Balmert, 5/1)
The Associated Press: Arkansas Legislature Advances Proposed Changes To Medicaid Expansion Program
An Arkansas House committee has advanced Gov. Asa Hutchinson's proposal to make changes to the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion program. Hutchinson called for a special legislative session for lawmakers to address Medicaid and other issues, including shoring up the state's long-term reserve fund. (5/1)
Arkansas Online: Panels Favor Plan To Shrink Medicaid Rolls
Legislation endorsing a plan to scale back Arkansas' expanded Medicaid program cleared committees of the state House and Senate on Monday during the first day of a special legislative session. House Bill 1003 and its identical counterpart, Senate Bill 3, will go to the floor of their respective chambers today. If they pass, the bills will each move to the other chamber. A final vote from each chamber on Wednesday would then send the bills to Gov. Asa Hutchinson for his signature. (Davis, 5/2)
Arkansas Times Record: Arkansas Governor Requests Fast Action In Special Session
The governor wants legislative authorization to modify Arkansas Works, formerly known as the private option, to add a work requirement and lower the maximum income level for eligibility from 138 percent to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. The changes also would need federal approval, which former President Barack Obama’s administration would not give. More than 300,000 Arkansans have obtained government-subsidized private health insurance under the program, which was created in 2013 as an alternative to the expansion of state Medicaid rolls envisioned in the federal Affordable Care Act. (Lyon, 5/2)
And on dental care —
The Star Tribune: Feds Warn Minnesota: Improve Kids' Dental Care In Medicaid
Minnesota has been warned that its main government health insurance program risks losing federal funding if it doesn't provide more preventive dental care to children. The problem is familiar to many families on Medical Assistance: Many dentists don't accept new patients covered by the program because Minnesota pays some of the lowest dental reimbursement rates in the country. (Howatt, 5/1)
