Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Reactions Mixed On Utah's Medicaid Expansion Plan At First Public Hearing
The Associated Press: Medicaid Plan Gets First Public Hearing But No Vote Yet
State lawmakers held the first public hearing Tuesday evening on a new plan to help thousands of Utah's poor get health insurance by expanding Medicaid. They didn't take any action on the plan, however, after hearing hours of testimony from doctors, advocates for the poor and more. The proposal would help poor residents get health insurance mostly through private insurance plans. Doctors, hospitals and others would help pay the state's cost through higher taxes and fees. (Price, 10/6)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Kansas Hospital Closure Sparks War Of Words On Medicaid Expansion
The Medicaid expansion debate in Kansas is heating up. Big time. The pending closure of Mercy Hospital in the southeast Kansas community of Independence appears to be the catalyst. Soon after hospital officials announced plans to close the facility, expansion advocates went on the offensive, charging that the state’s rejection of Medicaid expansion helped seal its fate. (McLean, 10/6)
Elsewhere, insurance marketplace and data privacy news comes from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey -
The Boston Globe: Can Mass. Do Health Care Better, Cheaper, And More Efficiently?
Massachusetts is considered a national leader for expanding health insurance coverage to nearly all of its residents. But can it be a leader in changing the way health care is delivered so that it costs less and is better for patients? (Dayal McCluskey, 10/6)
The Connecticut Mirror: Auditors Question Access Health’s Information Security
State auditors have raised concerns about the ability of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange to ensure that information about its customers is secure. In a report released Tuesday, the auditors cited concerns raised by a security expert who reviewed the exchange following a 2014 security breach and suggested that the quasi-public agency should develop a system for responding to reported security deficiencies. (Levin Becker, 10/6)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: N.J. Health Insurer Defends Plan As Lawmakers Object
New Jersey's largest health insurer on Monday defended a new alliance it has struck with some of the state's hospital systems that's intended to lower costs for consumers, even as lawmakers questioned the criteria it used to choose its partners. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey last month announced it had formed the Omnia Health Alliance with six of the state's 20 hospital systems and a physicians group. The only South Jersey hospital system included in the alliance is Inspira. (Seidman, 10/6)
