Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Requests For Medicaid Work Requirement Seem Like A Sure Bet. But CMS Says 'Not So Fast' To Some.
Mississippi Today: Trump Administration Cools On Mississippi Medicaid Work Requirements
For months, Mississippi’s application for a program that would require certain Medicaid recipients to work has been considered a lock by supporters and opponents of the program. But last week the Trump Administration walked back support for the waivers in states like Mississippi that have opted out of Medicaid expansion, placing a question mark over a controversial program that has the strong support of Gov. Phil Bryant. (Campbell, 5/10)
Des Moines Register: Feds Reject Iowa Request To Use $1B From Medicaid For Private Nursing Homes
The federal government has blocked Iowa’s attempts to implement a controversial, billion-dollar plan to funnel more Medicaid money into privately owned nursing homes. As many as 410 Iowa nursing homes — some owned and operated by large, out-of-state corporations — would have benefited from the plan. Had it been approved, many would have seen their revenue from Medicaid doubled. Industry officials have argued that Iowa’s nursing homes are in desperate need of additional Medicaid financing. (Kauffman, 5/13)
The Washington Post: Michigan’s GOP Has A Plan To Shield Some People From Medicaid Work Requirements. They’re Overwhelmingly White.
Michigan Republicans' plan to require some recipients of government health insurance to work would disproportionately affect black people, a Washington Post analysis of new data from state health officials reveals. State Republicans are moving a proposal through the legislature that would impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients, arguing new rules are necessary to push people into jobs and off taxpayer-subsidized health plans. (Stein and Van Dam, 5/11)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: As Va. Budget Fight Resumes, Hospitals Balance Benefits Of Expanding Medicaid, Cost Of Tax To Pay For It
The Virginia Senate returns to special session after a month’s absence to consider a pair of budgets — one for the fiscal year that ends June 30, the other for the two fiscal years starting July 1 — proposed by the House of Delegates. The House plans would rely both on accepting billions of dollars in federal money to expand Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of uninsured Virginians and a hospital tax to pay the state’s share of the costs, freeing the savings to be spent on other core services. (Martz, 5/13)
Delmarva Daily Times: In Accomack, Virginia's Health Insurance Wasteland, Medicaid Expansion May Offer Lifeline
Ann Lewis lost feeling in her hands and feet, and the numbness was spreading. When she could no longer urinate, she finally decided to go to the hospital. As she lay in bed in the hospital last November, her mind became fixated on something other than her rapidly deteriorating health. "All I could do was cry," Lewis recalled. "I thought, 'What am I doing to do? I can't afford all this.' That's the first thing I thought of." (Cox, 5/14)
