Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Uncertainty Of Future Medicaid Policies Rattles Many Who Want Coverage
Stat: A Boy Who Can’t Speak Depends On Medicaid. What Happens To Him If It’s Cut?
As the Rankins recast their lives as parents of a medically demanding infant, one reassurance was that Nathaniel’s health care would be covered; as an adopted foster child, he could stay on the state’s Medicaid program. The Rankins would have to monitor Nathaniel’s many health problems, but they wouldn’t have to worry about whether they could afford to do so. Now, though, the Rankins don’t feel so reassured. (Joseph, 2/21)
Salt Lake Tribune: Caught In Utah’s Medicaid Expansion Limbo: Homeless Woman Wants To ‘Try To Be Happy Again’
Kimberly Fox rolled her wheelchair through the hallways of the Road Home shelter in Salt Lake City last month, reflecting on the events of the past decade that left her homeless and alone. She used to be a photographer at a glossy magazine in Baltimore. She used to manage a record store. She used to be a productive member of society, she said. But when Fox, now 53, tripped on a pile of paint supplies in 2002 while working in a Baltimore shipyard, the fall wrecked her foot and her ability to work along with it. ... Just a few months ago, there was hope that Fox would get health insurance coverage from Medicaid this year. (Stuckey, 2/20)
Meanwhile, Ohio's governor and the Tennessee legislature respond to the debate in Washington, too —
The Hill: Kasich: House GOP Medicaid Plan 'Very Bad Idea'
Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Sunday criticized the House Republicans’ plan to phase out ObamaCare’s expansion of Medicaid. “I'm in Munich, but I understand that there was an initial effort by House Republicans to, for example, phase out Medicaid expansion, which means phasing out coverage,” Kasich said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That is a very, very bad idea, because we cannot turn our back on the most vulnerable. We can give them the coverage, reform the program, save some money and make sure that we live in a country where people are going to say, ‘At least somebody is looking out for me.’” (Sullivan, 2/19)
Nashville Tennessean: Bill Would Smooth Tennessee Pursuit For Medicaid Block Grant If D.C. Signals OK
A new bill in the state legislature would help pave the way for Tennessee to pursue a Medicaid block grant if the incoming federal administration moves in that direction. The bill, SB0118 filed by Sen. Richard Briggs, would allow the Division of Health Care Finance and Administration to expand TennCare to include people up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line if President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress move toward fewer federal regulations and block grants for Medicaid. Under a block grant, the state would get some fixed level of funding to provide care for eligible Medicaid enrollees. (Fletcher, 2/17)
