Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Virginia Reports Shortfall of $281 Million In Medicaid Budget
The Washington Post: Budget Leaders: Va.’s Medicaid Program Will Need An Extra $281 Million
Virginia’s Medicaid program will need an extra $281 million during the current two-year budget, adding to the state’s already substantial budget woes and reviving Richmond’s bitterly partisan battle over expanding health-care for the poor. The projected cost overrun, disclosed to legislative budget leaders Tuesday, comes on top of the $9.3 billion the state had budgeted to fund the health-care program through fiscal years 2017 and 2018. (Vozzella, 11/2)
Richmond Times Dispatch: Virginia Medicaid Costs To Rise Again As Governor Prepares New Push For Expansion
The cost of Virginia’s Medicaid program will grow by $281 million in the current two-year budget, increasing the challenge for Gov. Terry McAuliffe in managing a projected $1.48 billion revenue shortfall. It also will make it harder for the governor to persuade Republican legislators to accept billions of federal dollars to expand health coverage of uninsured Virginians. (Martz, 11/1)
The CT Mirror: Hospitals Ask Feds To Declare CT Medicaid Rates, Hospital Tax Illegal
Citing a host of job and program cuts and funding levels that threaten hospital viability and patients’ access to care, Connecticut hospitals have asked the federal government to declare that the state is violating federal law by paying inadequate rates for treating Medicaid patients and imposing a $556 million tax on the industry. The petition to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, filed Tuesday, is part of a two-pronged challenge to Connecticut’s fiscal policies toward hospitals. On Tuesday, the Connecticut Hospital Association and 20 hospitals also moved their state-level challenge to the hospital tax to Superior Court. They previously appealed the tax through administrative channels, but their claim that the tax is illegal was denied by two state agency heads last month. (Levin Becker, 11/1)
Kansas City Star: Emergency Help For Disabled Could Be Threatened By Budget Chaos
Action taken last Thursday to help six people with developmental disabilities continue to live at home could be only the beginning of budget chaos that will be caused by state cutbacks in Medicaid, county officials warned. The Johnson County Commission scooped up the people in an improvised safety net to prevent them losing their home services just a day before their care provider, Cornerstone Supports, closed its doors Friday. But while commissioners unanimously approved emergency funding, they also warned that it is a short-term fix. Changes in state funding could cause more providers to close and leave more people without the help they need, they said. (Hammill, 11/1)
