Missouri Medicaid Expansion Heads To Court
A state court lawsuit was filed to force Missouri to expand its Medicaid program as voters decided in an election last year. Other news regarding Medicaid from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia and Illinois.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Lawsuit Filed To Force Medicaid Expansion In Missouri
The fight over Medicaid expansion in Missouri has moved from the state Capitol to the Cole County Courthouse. A lawsuit filed Thursday in Cole County Circuit Court aims to require the state to expand its Medicaid program in accordance with the constitutional amendment 53% of voters supported last August. Lawmakers left Jefferson City last week without funding the program, which would provide health care services to adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty limit. Opponents of the expansion in the Republican-dominated Legislature argued proponents should have included a funding mechanism in their ballot language. (Suntrup, 5/20)
CNN:
Lawsuit Aims To Force Missouri Governor To Enact Voter-Approved Medicaid Expansion
The battle to expand Medicaid in Missouri has now shifted to the courtroom. A lawsuit was filed Thursday to force GOP Gov. Mike Parson to expand Medicaid on July 1, as voters approved in a ballot measure last year. The move comes a week after Parson said he will not broaden the public health insurance program to roughly 275,000 low-income residents because lawmakers did not appropriate funding. (Luhby, 5/20)
In other state Medicaid programs —
The Oklahoman:
Oklahoma Senate Want Framework For Stitt's Medicaid Managed Care
The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to add legislative oversight and legal guardrails to Gov. Kevin Stitt's plan to outsource care for most Medicaid recipients. The passage of an updated version of Senate Bill 131 gives opponents of third-party managed care a victory, but perhaps not the victory they wanted. (Forman, 5/20)
WZTV:
Tennessee AG Files Motion To Intervene In Lawsuit Challenging State's Medicaid Block Grant
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III on Thursday filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the state's Medicaid block grant. The motion requests the U.S. District Court to allow the state of Tennessee to intervene as a defendant. (Whittington, 5/20)
Chicago Tribune:
Nursing Home Funding Would Change In Illinois Under Proposed Plan
Illinois officials are calling for a fundamental shift in how the state pays nursing homes, a move they say will increase staffing and improve care — instead of increasing profits. The effort is also aimed at reducing disparities by which the COVID-19 pandemic hit Black and Latino Medicaid patients disproportionately among nursing home residents, who overall made up more than 40% of all COVID-19-related deaths. (McCoppin, 5/20)
Georgia Health News:
Potential Seen For Big Financial Paybacks From Insurers To Medicaid
The state’s Medicaid agency is setting up plans for a health insurer bidding competition that will award a new multibillion-dollar medical contract. “We’ll be looking for the best bang for the buck,’’ Frank Berry, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), said last week at an agency board meeting. (Miller, 5/19)
The Nevada Independent:
New Amendment Proposes Making Changes To Medicaid Portion Of Public Option Bill In Effort To Reduce Fiscal Impact
Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) presented a new amendment to her public option bill on Wednesday that proposes scaling back a secondary portion of the legislation aimed at expanding Medicaid services in Nevada.While Cannizzaro’s proposal to establish a state-managed public health insurance option has garnered significant attention, a lesser-noticed portion of the bill, SB420, proposes expanding certain Medicaid services in the state, including increasing eligibility of up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level for coverage for pregnant women, adding coverage for doulas (trained professionals who often assist in childbirth) and community health workers and requiring payment parity between advanced nurse practitioners and physicians. (Messerly, 5/20)
State Of Reform:
Three Reversals Point To Major Changes In Federal Medicaid Policy
The Biden administration’s reversals of three Trump-era Medicaid decisions signal a wholesale change in direction is now underway. While some legal wrangling is likely (and may be protracted), the previous administration’s imprint on the program is certain to fade with time. The new president signed an executive order on January 28th jump-starting an aggressive review of recent Medicaid decisions. The order stated that the new administration’s overarching policy is to make enrollment into Medicaid easier rather than harder, and thus agency officials should examine recently-issued regulations, waiver approvals, and other matters to ensure they are consistent with this guiding principle. The result has been quick action on three fronts. (Capretta, 5/20)
