Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Medicaid Shortfall Adding To Budget Gap Facing Lawmakers
Dallas Morning News: Texas Braces For Budget Cuts As Economy, Medicaid, Spending Decisions Collide
The budget cushion that Texas has long enjoyed is vanishing. Medicaid spending is higher than expected. The economy is cooling. Last year's tax cuts and the decision to move billions of general-purpose revenue into highways will dramatically shrink the pool of money available for budget writers in next year’s legislative session. ... Complicating the picture is a mounting pile of IOUs, such as a hole in the Medicaid budget of between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion in state funds. (Garrett, 9/1)
Dallas Morning News: Hospitals Like Parkland Could Save 10 Percent Of Unpaid Care If Texas Expands Medicaid, Study Finds
If Texas expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals would whittle away about one-tenth of the costs for care they provide and never collect payment for, according to a study. Hospitals would net about $358 million a year, a "significant" reduction in the $4 billion they lose annually when they treat the uninsured and receive tiny payments from Texas Medicaid, the report found. But Medicaid enlargement is unlikely in Texas, where conservative GOP leaders are staunchly opposed to Obamacare even though the state has more uninsured people than any other, the researchers noted. (Garrett, 9/1)
Denver Post: Colorado To Expand Coverage For Hep C Patients, But Some Still Won’t Get The Expensive Drug
Colorado will increase access to a life-saving, expensive hepatitis C drug, covering needy patients in earlier stages of liver disease than were previously considered, the state Medicaid department said Thursday. The decision comes after criticism from the ACLU Colorado and Denver Health medical center and a recommendation from the state drug review board, which provides guidance on drug coverage for the state insurance program for needy Coloradans. (Brown, 9/1)
The Associated Press: Abu-Jamal Loses Suit Over Hepatitis C Drug; Can Refile
A federal judge in Pennsylvania has blasted a prison policy that denies former death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal and others an expensive hepatitis C drug until they have advanced liver damage. U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani said the policy amounts to "conscious disregard" for the inmates' health, but noted that prisons, Medicaid officials and courts across the country are struggling to decide who should get the anti-viral drugs. (Dale, 9/1)
