Medicaid Expansion Becoming More Politically Palatable As Link To Obama Administration Fades In People’s Minds
Red states are noticing the benefits their neighbors reaped by expanding the program, and are slowly warming up to it themselves. “There’s been a ton of evidence showing large gains in health care coverage, while helping states economically and keeping rural hospitals open,” said Connie Farrow, spokeswoman for Healthcare for Missouri. “And it hasn’t hurt state budgets. It remains a really good deal for states to cover hundreds of thousands of people.” Medicaid news comes from Wyoming, Idaho and Florida, as well.
Stateline:
The Politics of Medicaid Expansion Have Changed
Year by year, resistance to extending Medicaid to more low-income Americans in conservative states has given way. ... In some states, Democratic governors who favor expansion have replaced Republicans who were stalwart opponents. GOP critics have had a change of heart in some holdout states. And in several Republican-led states, citizen ballot initiatives are driving expansion. Serious efforts are underway in Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina and Oklahoma that could add them to the 36 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have opted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Ollove, 11/12)
The Associated Press:
Wyoming Committee Advances Medicaid Expansion Bill
A legislative committee has advanced a bill that allows Gov. Mark Gordon to explore expanding the Medicaid program in Wyoming. The lawmakers on the Joint Revenue Committee voted 8 to 5 Tuesday to move the bill forward to the full Legislature, which meets next February. Under the proposed bill, the governor must first direct the departments of health and insurance to explore options for expanding Medicaid eligibility. (11/13)
Post Register:
BYU-Idaho Requiring Students On Medicaid To Also Buy Student Health Plans, Won't Say Why
Brigham Young University-Idaho has stopped accepting Medicaid insurance to waive the student health plan, and so far the university won’t say why. Some students at the university in Rexburg, which is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, took to social media earlier this week after going to the Student Health Center and finding out that even if they have Medicaid coverage, they still would need to buy a student health plan, which cost $536 per semester for an individual and $2,130 for a family. (Brown and Varnedoe, 11/13)
Health News Florida:
Feds Eye Medicaid Funding Changes
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Tuesday it is revamping rules that define how states can collect money to fund supplemental Medicaid payment programs. Supplemental payments have increased in the past several years, going from 9.4 percent of all other Medicaid payments in fiscal year 2010 to 17.5 percent in fiscal-year 2017. (Sexton, 11/13)
