Maine Attorney General’s Office Throws Support Behind State’s Voter-Approved Medicaid Expansion
Maine Gov. Paul LePage has been waging a contentious battle against the expansion, demanding that state lawmakers come up with a way to pay for the newly covered beneficiaries. Medicaid news comes out of Iowa and Missouri, as well.
The Press Herald:
Attorney General's Office Backs Medicaid Expansion Lawsuit Against LePage Administration
The Maine Attorney General’s Office has filed a brief supporting the lawsuit by Maine Equal Justice Partners that accuses the LePage administration of breaking the law by continuing to block the expansion of Medicaid coverage for more than 70,000 low-income Mainers. The amicus curiae brief, which was submitted in Kennebec County Superior Court on Oct. 17, was signed by Chief Deputy Attorney General Linda M. Pistner and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan R. Bolton. Attorney General Janet Mills, the Democratic candidate running for governor, is not named in the filing. (Hoey, 10/23)
Kaiser Health News:
States Explore Paths To Pay Their Share For Medicaid Expansion — Using Political GPS
Last year, nearly 60 percent of Maine residents voted to expand the state’s Medicaid program — an option provided by the Affordable Care Act that would extend health insurance to tens of thousands of the state’s low-income people. But the state’s Republican governor, Paul LePage, a longtime opponent of Medicaid expansion, has refused to implement the policy because he doesn’t want to raise taxes to pay the state’s share of the cost. (Luthra, 10/24)
Des Moines Register:
Iowa Medicaid Provider's Move To End Specialized Treatment Alarms Parents
Melissa and Dennis Henderson weathered assaults, suicide attempts, police visits and homicidal threats until their 15-year-old daughter began receiving specialized treatment last year in Missouri. ...This spring, a doctor at United Healthcare recommended ending the adopted girl’s stint at the Lake of the Ozarks psychiatric facility for kids who have experienced severe trauma, saying the treatment was no longer medically necessary. The Hendersons appealed. This month, an administrative law judge decided that treatment, which typically lasts 12 to 18 months, should continue. But Iowa’s Department of Human Services chief, Jerry Foxhoven, informed the Pleasant Hill couple that he will be reviewing the decision at the request of UnitedHealthcare. (Rood, 10/23)
KCUR:
Missouri House Speaker Richardson Will Run State Medicaid Insurance Program
Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson will leave the Statehouse to oversee management of the state’s low-income health-insurance program. Gov. Mike Parson on Monday appointed Richardson, 41, director of MO HealthNet. The appointment will take effect Nov. 1, about two months before Richardson's term in the House was to end. The position has been vacant since December 2016 — the end of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's administration — and remained unfilled during the entire year-and-a-half tenure of former Republican Gov. Eric Greitens. (Delaney and Rosenbaum, 10/23)
