N.M. Officials To Brief Lawmakers Today On Plans To Curb Medicaid Spending
Proposals to cut state spending have included requiring enrollees to pay monthly premiums and copayments. In other Medicaid news, a look at Louisiana's program, a managed care contract controversy in Mississippi and record backlogs in Oregon.
The Associated Press:
New Mexico Presses Forward With Medicaid Premiums, Copays
New Mexico is pressing forward with plans to limit increases in state spending on Medicaid health care for low-income and disabled residents by adding monthly premiums and copays from patients, as Senate Republicans in Washington contemplate fundamental changes to Medicaid. State officials will brief lawmakers Wednesday on an array of proposed changes to the state's Medicaid health care program designed to keep costs down while improving the delivery of health care for New Mexico's poorest residents. (9/20)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Medicaid In Louisiana: Who Gets It? How Does It Work?
Medicaid has been at the center of much of the health care and budget debate this year in Washington and Baton Rouge. Here is a primer on the program. ... About 74 million people -- 1 in 5 five Americans -- are enrolled in Medicaid. Louisiana is more dependent, with 1.6 million -- about 1 in 3 residents -- using the program. (O'Donoghue, 9/19)
Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger:
$2B Medicaid Contract Moving Forward After Contract Review Board Refuses To Vote
Public Service Contract Review Board members took a passive role on the Medicaid managed care debate Tuesday, refusing to take up the matter after their staff recommended they approve the $2 billion contract. The non-vote means the MississippiCAN contract, the subject of much controversy since the Mississippi Division of Medicaid signed it in June, is effective and will move forward, according to the board and Medicaid's attorney. (Wolfe, 9/19)
East Oregonian:
Eliminating Medicaid Backlog Will Cost Oregon At Least $4.3 Million
An intensive effort to shore up Oregon’s Medicaid enrollment records is expected to cost the state at least $4.3 million. Participants in the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon’s Medicaid program, must have their eligibility for the plan verified annually in a process called redetermination. Oregon had fallen behind on those annual redeterminations, and by late May had an estimated backlog of about 115,000 people whose eligibility for the Oregon Health Plan was in question. (Withycombe, 9/19)
