Missouri’s Medicaid Expansion Must Begin Immediately, Judge Rules

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Judge Tells Missouri It Can No Longer Deny Medicaid To Patients Eligible Under Expansion
A Cole County judge on Tuesday ordered Missouri officials not to deny coverage to patients newly eligible for Medicaid under the state’s voter-approved expansion, a major win for proponents who have long pushed for the increased access to health care. Circuit Judge Jon Beetem said the state was barred “from prohibiting individuals eligible under” Medicaid expansion from “enrolling in the MO HealthNet program as of July 1, 2021.” (Suntrup, 8/10)

The Hill: Missouri Court Rules Medicaid Expansion Must Begin Immediately 
Missouri officials must implement the voter-approved Medicaid expansion immediately, a state judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting a request from the attorney general's office for at least a two month delay. The ruling by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem follows a unanimous ruling by the state's Supreme Court last month in favor of expansion. The Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision by Beetem blocking implementation, and remanded the case back to him to “issue a judgment for the plaintiffs.”  (Weixel, 8/10)

AP: Missouri Judge Says Medicaid Expansion Must Be Allowed
The ruling represents a major victory for supporters of expanding Medicaid under the terms of the 2010 federal health care law signed by President Barack Obama. Missouri voters last year approved a state constitutional amendment expanding access to the government health care program to an estimated 275,000 more low-income adults, but Parson had refused to implement it because the GOP-led Legislature didn’t set aside money for it. “With today’s court order, Medicaid eligibility is finally expanded in Missouri, as its voters mandated and its people deserve,” Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said in a statement. “There can be no more excuses and no more delays in implementation.” (Ballentine, 8/10)

Missouri Independent: Truman Medical Center Pulls Out Of Missouri Medicaid Provider Tax Pool 
Kansas City’s Truman Medical Center will stop contributing to a financial pooling arrangement that helps maintain political support for a tax that pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into Missouri’s Medicaid program every year. The move, which lawmakers began learning about last week, has raised concerns that other providers could follow Truman’s lead — and could ultimately doom the provider tax and the funding it has provided the state for nearly three decades. (Keller, 8/10)

And in Medicare news —

Axios: Medicare Advantage Continues Growth Despite Longstanding Problems 
Medicare's open enrollment will kick off in two months, leading to the health insurance industry's annual marketing blitz that entices seniors with Medicare Advantage plans that tout capped out-of-pocket costs, vision and dental benefits, and fitness classes. Medicare Advantage continued to grow during the pandemic, and it's increasingly likely a majority of all Medicare enrollees will be in private plans in a few years despite Medicare Advantage's deep, longstanding problems. (Herman, 8/11)

Modern Healthcare: Health Care Service Corp. Expands Medicare Advantage Reach To 90 New Counties
Health Care Service Corp. plans to expand its Medicare Advantage offerings to more than 90 counties that are home to 1.1 million Medicare-eligible residents. HCSC billed the Medicare Advantage expansion as the largest in its history. The Chicago-based not-for-profit insurer covers almost 17 million people through Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. "Our goal as an organization is to provide our products and services for people to have access to affordable quality health insurance," said Christine Kourouklis, president of HCSC's Medicare operations. (Devereaux, 8/10)

KHN: Why Doesn’t Medicare Cover Services So Many Seniors Need?
Sorry, Joe Namath. Despite what you keep saying in those TV ads, under Medicare, seniors are not “entitled to eliminate copays and get dental care, dentures, eyeglasses, prescription drug coverage, in-home aides, unlimited transportation and home-delivered meals, all at no additional cost.” But if Democratic lawmakers in Congress have their say, seniors could soon be entitled to some of those services. Namath’s commercial is hawking private Medicare Advantage plans, which frequently do offer benefits traditional Medicare does not — in exchange for being limited to certain doctors and hospitals. “Traditional” Medicare does not cover many benefits used overwhelmingly by its beneficiaries, including most vision, dental and hearing care, and drug coverage is available only by purchasing a separate insurance plan — Medicare Part D. (Rovner, 8/11)