Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many People Still Unwillingly Confined To Nursing Homes Despite Landmark Court Decision
The New York Times: Confined To Nursing Homes, But Longing (And Ready) For Home
Marvin L. Dawkins was a 53-year-old AT&T manager when a blocked blood vessel left him paralyzed. It took 11 years, one lawsuit, repeated tangles over Medicaid rules — and a chance meeting on a church van — before he could extract himself from a nursing home outside Baltimore. ... Across the nation, many other Americans who could live elsewhere with help are unwillingly confined to nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Nearly 20 years after the Supreme Court ruled that disabled people requiring public support were entitled to live in their community, rather than in institutions unless medically necessary, the federal government and states are still far from achieving that goal. (Thomas, Fink and Smith, 5/13)
The Associated Press: Mental Health Advocates Question Drug Bill
Mental health advocates are raising concerns about a bill passed by Kansas lawmakers that would require doctors to try cheaper drugs before more expensive ones for Medicaid recipients, but the bill's backers say the concerns are overblown. The process, called step therapy, is common in many private and public health insurance plans. It was key to resolving budget issues because it would reduce the state's cost of providing health care for poor residents by nearly $11 million a year. Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to sign the bill Monday. (Hellmann, 5/15)
And a surprising turn on the issue of Medicaid expansion—
The Associated Press: In Surprising Turnabout, Oklahoma Eyes Medicaid Expansion
Despite bitter resistance in Oklahoma for years to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Republican leaders in this conservative state are now confronting something that alarms them even more: a huge $1.3 billion hole in the budget that threatens to do widespread damage to the state's health care system. So, in what would be the grandest about-face among rightward leaning states, Oklahoma is now moving toward a plan to expand its Medicaid program to bring in billions of federal dollars from President Obama's new health care system. (Murphy, 5/16)
