N.Y.’s Increase In Medicaid Payments To Hospitals Came After Industry Made Donation To Democrats

The New York Times: After Hospitals’ Big Donation To N.Y. Democrats, A $140 Million Payout
With Medicaid costs soaring in New York, the Greater New York Hospital Association was pushing for the seemingly impossible: more state reimbursement money. It was a big ask, and for years, it had gone nowhere. Medicaid spending already represented a massive and ever-growing share of the state budget, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had taken steps to keep the program in check. Then things changed. (Goodman, 10/3)

Oklahoman: Republican Former House Speaker Endorses Medicaid Expansion For Oklahoma
Kris Steele, a Republican who was speaker of the Oklahoma House during a period of intense GOP resistance to the Affordable Care Act, came out Monday night for a key feature of that health care law. Speaking at a forum on mental health care in south Oklahoma City, Steele endorsed Medicaid expansion. In fact, he recited the main points of those now pushing for a state ballot question on expanding the state-federal health care insurance. “When people are healthier, they tend to commit less crime,” Steele said. “When people are healthier, it tends to improve the quality of life. (Casteel, 10/2)

The Tennessean: Residents, Advocates Raise Concerns Over Tennessee's Medicaid Block Grant Proposal In First Public Hearing
More than 150 people gathered Tuesday for the first of a series of public hearings on a plan to transform the funding model of Tennessee's Medicaid program, a forum where nearly every speaker expressed concern with the state's TennCare block grant proposal. ... Under the proposal, the state would receive a $7.9 billion block grant to use on some of its Medicaid services, rather than receiving an unspecific but unlimited amount of funding based on claims filed. The block grant amount would increase on a per-capita basis for each new member enrolled in the future, and would be adjusted each year for inflation. The state then hopes to split the cost savings for running the program more efficiently with the federal government. (Allison, Kelman and Wadhwani, 10/1)

Kaiser Health News: Tenn. Block Grant Experiment Would Boost Federal Funding, State Medicaid Chief Says
Tennessee wants to be the first state to test a radical approach for federal financing of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low-income people. The proposal, Tennessee Medicaid Director Gabe Roberts said, would increase the federal government’s contributions by millions of dollars and allow Tennessee to improve care for enrollees, perhaps offering additional services such as limited dental care for some people. But critics fear the plan will harm the poor. (Galewitz, 10/2)

Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Sununu At Odds With Feds Over Medicaid In Schools 
New Hampshire officials are moving to quell concerns about the state’s “Medicaid to Schools” program, months after a federal agency issued new restrictions over how the program can be used. ... The Medicaid to Schools program allows New Hampshire schools to be reimbursed for services through Medicaid – a federal health care program primarily targeted to low-income people. The program was expanded under a 2017 law that allowed schools to use it for all students who qualify for Medicaid, not just those with Individualized Education Plans. But this spring, a new guidance issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees Medicaid, restricted that reimbursement. (DeWitt, 10/2)

NH Times Union: NH Scrambles To Avoid Losing Millions From Feds For Medicaid Services In Schools 
The state has created an emergency rule to avoid the threatened loss of millions in federal funding over how New Hampshire delivers Medicaid services in public schools. Gov. Chris Sununu wrote to local school officials to assure them the state is revamping the program in compliance with guidance from the federal Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services. (Landrigan, 10/2)