Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Tennessee Task Force Finalizing Proposal For Partial Medicaid Expansion
The Tennessean: Task Force Plans To Send TennCare Expansion Plan To Feds Soon
The 3-Star Healthy task force is preparing to submit its next draft of a TennCare expansion pilot to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in about seven days. Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and task force chairman, said the task force is finalizing how it proposes to measure utilization of service — one of its goals is to reduce emergency room visits — and the diagnostic aspect. The proposal is a Medicaid expansion pilot that will cover people with mental health and substance abuse disorders as well as veterans who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line in the first phase. Determining eligibility through diagnoses raised logistical questions from the beginning. (Fletcher, 9/12)
Reuters: Children’s Hospitals Lose Money On Kids With Medicaid
Children’s hospitals lose more money than other facilities treating children covered by Medicaid and may be under pressure in 2018 when federal payments compensating for this loss are reduced, according to a new study. Medicaid typically pays less than what it costs a hospital to provide service, the authors write, and U.S. hospitals lost $14.1 billion in 2014 from Medicaid underpayment. (Doyle, 9/12)
