Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oregon's Legal War With Oracle Shifts To Medicaid Contract
The Oregonian: Oregon's Oracle Fight Spreads: New AG Suit Says Firm's Pullout From Medicaid Hurts Thousands
Oregon's legal war with Oracle America is spreading - and getting weirder - as state attorneys have gone to court to block the California software giant from abandoning a contract that each month helps enrolls tens of thousands of people in the low-income Oregon Health Plan. (Budnick, 2/17)
The Hill: Gov. Walker Faces Growing Pressure Over Medicaid Expansion
Wisconsin could save $400 million over two years if state officials agree to expand Medicaid, raising pressure on Republican Gov. Scott Walker to move forward with the politically divisive ObamaCare policy. The estimates released Tuesday indicate that Wisconsin could benefit even more than expected from the Medicaid expansion, according to research from the state’s budget office. The new figures – which are $84 million more than an estimate last fall – come at a crucial time for Walker, who has adamantly refused to expand the federal program but now faces a $2 billion budget hole. (Ferris, 2/17)
McClatchy: A Separate Peace: GOP Governors And The Medicaid Expansion
When Indiana Gov. Mike Pence agreed to expand eligibility for his state’s Medicaid program, he made sure to call it “reform” rather than “expansion.” ... His careful wording is part of an awkward political dance that’s being performed nationwide as more Republican governors push for Medicaid expansion, despite tepid support from GOP state lawmakers and a continuing assault on the health care law by Republicans in Congress. The governors’ efforts have muddied what had been one of their party’s clearest and strongest political messages – their universal disdain for the health care law. (Pugh, 2/17)
In other news on state Medicaid issues -
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Medicaid Enrollments Starting To Rise, But Challenges Remain
Administrators for Missouri’s Medicaid program told members of their oversight committee that they are getting closer to fixing their processing delays for new applicants. But the wait can still take months. “We are now under 13,000 pending applications. I think we will get into that normal, historical range within the next week,” said Family Support Division Director Alyson Campbell at an oversight committee meeting of MO HealthNet, the social services division that administers Medicaid in Missouri. ... Missouri was one of the states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Most states that did not expand Medicaid still saw an uptick in enrollment last year, mostly because people who hadn’t realized they qualified for the program before were newly able to sign up on the online exchanges. But, strikingly, Missouri saw a decline. (Bouscaren, 2/17)
Kaiser Health News: States Add Dental Coverage For Adults On Medicaid But Struggle To Meet Demand
Colorado was one of five states last year to begin offering routine dental coverage to millions of low-income adults in Medicaid — an unprecedented expansion. But like [Pavel] Poliakov, many have had trouble finding dentists willing to treat them because of Medicaid’s low reimbursements, according to providers, advocates and patients. The upshot is that many Medicaid enrollees continue to live with the pain and discomfort of tooth decay and gum disease, which can exacerbate other health problems. (Galewitz, 2/18)
