Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Michigan Senate Votes To Add Work Requirements To State's Medicaid Program
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Senate Wants Many Medicaid Recipients To Find Jobs
The debate ranged from experiencing the “joys of work” to a more spiritual take about helping the “least of these,” but in the end, work prevailed and the full Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require many recipients of Medicaid to be gainfully employed for at least 29 hours a week. Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said the work requirements were an essential element of keeping viable the Healthy Michigan program, which has 680,000 low-income Michiganders enrolled in an expansion of Medicaid. (Gray, 4/19)
Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Senate Passes Bill Proposing Work Requirements For TennCare Recipients
The Senate on Thursday passed a measure that proposes work requirements for recipients of TennCare, the state's Medicaid program. The bill, which calls for work requirements for "able-bodied" TennCare recipients without young children, passed 23-2 after it was overwhelmingly approved by the House earlier this year. (Buie, 4/19)
Boston Globe: MassHealth Overpaid For Drug Tests, Audit Finds
MassHealth, the state Medicaid program, overpaid up to $4.4 million over nearly four years to laboratories that improperly billed for drug testing, according to a report Thursday by state Auditor Suzanne M. Bump. The erroneous payments represent a tiny fraction of MassHealth’s $15.3 billion annual costs, but suggest a failure to catch mistakes and overbilling at a time when spending on urine screening is exploding nationally as addiction treatment providers monitor their patients’ drug use. (Freyer, 4/19)
Sacramento Bee: CA Undocumented Immigrants Closer To Getting Health Care
Bills from state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, would expand full-scope Medi-Cal to undocumented adults, allowing an estimated 1.3 million eligible residents to use the state's low-income health care program for primary and specialty care. At present, low-income undocumented adults are covered for very limited services – emergencies and pregnancy-related care. (Hart, 4/19)
