Rural Areas Fear GOP’s Medicaid Cuts Could Be Devastating To Local Health Care Options
These parts of the country already have more uninsured and underinsured people per capita than urban areas, and industry officials and community advocates are raising concerns about the future of small, local hospitals if Medicaid funding is reduced.
Roll Call:
Rural Areas Brace For Health Care Bill Impact
The Senate historically has paid special attention to the needs of rural areas, but as the chamber readies its health care bill, there are concerns that the bill would undermine coverage in those places more than anywhere else. While the exact text of the Senate bill is not yet posted publicly, all signs point to somewhat similar language to the House bill (HR 1628), which would reduce funding for Medicaid compared to current law and impose caps on Medicaid funding. Under the House bill, older people also would face higher premiums — and rural areas tend to be home to a large number of older Americans. (Raman, 6/21)
NPR:
GOP Medicaid Cuts Would Hit Rural Hospitals And Patients Hard
For the hundreds of rural U.S. hospitals struggling to stay in business, health policy decisions made in Washington, D.C., this summer could make survival a lot tougher. Since 2010, at least 79 rural hospitals have closed across the country, and nearly 700 more are at risk of closing. These hospitals serve a largely older, poorer and sicker population than most hospitals, and that makes them particularly vulnerable to changes made to Medicaid funding. (Sable-Smith, 6/22)
Modern Healthcare:
Democrats Warn: Obamacare Repeal Will Hurt Rural Hospitals
Constraining the growth of Medicaid spending and reducing federal support for expanded coverage will disproportionately hurt rural communities, according to a new study. The House bill to replace Obamacare would do both, according to a report released Wednesday by the Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee and U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Rural residents are less likely to have commercial insurance and more likely to be low income than people who live in metropolitan areas, the report said. Additionally, 24% of people under 65 in rural areas are covered by Medicaid. (Lee, 6/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Persistent Medicaid Myths Make AHCA Cuts More Likely
Although potential changes to the individual insurance market drew most of the fire during debate in the House over the American Health Care Act, Medicaid has moved to the spotlight in the Senate. Providers and some parents of medically fragile children warn there could be dire consequences if Medicaid funding is constrained, but they seem to lack the political capital to get GOP lawmakers to reverse course. Advocates are saying this could be because Medicaid is largely misunderstood, and people aren't fully aware of the reasons why and when someone ends up qualifying for the government insurance, which covers 70 million Americans. (Lee, 6/21)
Des Moines Register:
Let Iowans Buy Medicaid Instead Of Private Insurance, Democrats Say
Iowans who have trouble finding affordable health insurance on their own should be allowed to buy into the state’s Medicaid program, two Democratic legislators proposed Wednesday. The idea was offered as an alternative to Iowa’s faltering market for individual health insurance, the kind people buy if they don’t have access to employer-offered policies or government programs. (Leys, 6/21)
California Healthline:
Calif. GOP Congressmen Aim To Boost Medicaid Pay For Doctors After Votes To Slash Program
Some political observers were surprised when two Republican congressmen from California’s Central Valley voted for the GOP-led House bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act and curtail federal spending on Medicaid, the health program for low-income people. After all, thousands of people in their districts could lose their health coverage if the bill became law. Now, Reps. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) have introduced legislation of their own to increase payments for doctors who treat Medicaid patients. Medicaid reimbursement rates in California are among the nation’s lowest, hampering some patients’ access to care. (Ibarra, 6/22)
PBS NewsHour:
For Vulnerable Californians, Expanded Medicaid Is A Lifeline At Risk Of Being Cut
Senate Republicans are pushing hard to pass their own bill next week to replace and overhaul the Affordable Care Act. One of the key issues, major cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal-state program that provides health care to low-income Americans, the elderly and disabled. It was expanded under Obamacare. ... Special correspondent Cat Wise reports from Los Angeles on how these cuts could directly affect patients. (6/21)
Meanwhile, in Iowa, controversy continues about the switch to managed care for the Medicaid program --
Des Moines Register:
Mental Health Leader Once Backed Medicaid Privatization, Now Says It's Forcing Staff Cuts
The leader of a large Iowa mental health agency, who once defended the state’s shift to private Medicaid management, now says the new system is forcing his company to cut all of its workers’ pay and lay off about 25 of them. Optimae LifeServices President Bill Dodds said the agency has faced serious payment problems under Iowa’s privately managed Medicaid system, which took effect in 2016. He also warned that cuts in Medicaid payments to agencies like Optimae mean some Iowans with serious mental illness, including convicted sex offenders, aren’t being monitored as closely as they used to be. (Leys, 6/21)
