N.H. Republicans Seek Work Requirements, Funding Changes For Medicaid Expansion
The state has expanded its Medicaid program, but that will end next year without a legislative extension. A similar plan has been introduced in Kansas. Outlets also look at Medicaid expansion efforts in North Carolina, Louisiana and Tennessee.
The Associated Press:
GOP Lawmakers To Outline Plan To Continue Medicaid Expansion
Republican lawmakers' plan to continue Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire includes work requirements for people receiving the insurance and proposes a way to pay for the state's share of the program without charging taxpayers. Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley will outline the proposal Wednesday alongside several advocacy groups in advance of a public hearing the next day. (1/27)
Kansas Health Institute:
New Medicaid Expansion Plan Introduced
The Kansas Hospital Association has engineered the introduction of a Medicaid expansion bill modeled after a so-called consumer driven plan implemented last year in Indiana. The measure, introduced Tuesday in House and Senate committees, would provide coverage to approximately 150,000 low-income but non-disabled adults by making them eligible for KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program. Tom Bell, president and chief executive of KHA, said the proposal was written with input from Kansas lawmakers. (McLean, 1/26)
Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer:
NC Costs, Benefits Of Medicaid Expansion About Equal In 2020, Analysis Says
An assessment of Medicaid expansion, done by a Wake Forest law professor and a researcher, finds that its economic benefits and savings would about equal the extra expense when North Carolina would have to pay its maximum share of the cost. ... Mark A. Hall, director of Wake Forest law school’s health law and policy program, and research associate Edwin Shoaf compiled a summary of economists’ estimates of the costs and benefits of expansion. They found that secondary benefits – job creation and economic stimulus, reducing the cost to treat uninsured people, and reducing costs of other state programs – would offset the state’s 10 percent share of the total cost of expansion, when the state begins shouldering that portion. (Bonner, 1/26)
CQ Healthbeat:
Medicaid Expansion Poses A Challenge For New Governor
While tackling a $1.9 billion budget deficit, Louisiana’s new governor will also have to juggle bringing 350,000 low-income residents into the state’s health insurance program for the poor — and he’s determined to get it done fast. On Jan. 12, his second day in office, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid. The order is a first step toward fulfilling a campaign promise and marks a turning point for a Southern state whose previous governor, Republican Bobby Jindal, staunchly opposed the 2010 federal health care law better known as Obamacare. (Evans, 1/26)
The Associated Press:
Hospital Group Takes Longer Approach To Insure Tennessee
The Tennessee Hospital Association, a key supporter of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's unsuccessful effort to expand Medicaid in the state, is planning a new push to pass the measure once this year's presidential election is over. The members of the hospital group had pledged to cover the entire $74 million state share of Haslam's Insure Tennessee proposal, which would have drawn down $2.8 billion in federal Medicaid funds over two years. (Schelzig, 1/26)
