Wyoming Medicaid Expansion Debate Continues
While a collection of Wyoming citizen and professional groups urged state lawmakers to pursue efforts to expand the health insurance program for people with low incomes, the Republican-controlled state senate has rejected past pushes in this direction. One current proposal that has gained traction, however, includes a health savings account provision. News outlets also report on related developments in Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and Texas.
The Associated Press:
Wyoming Citizens Urge Legislative Committee To Expand Medicaid
A range of citizens and professional groups urged Wyoming lawmakers on Monday to accept federal money to expand the federal Medicaid program to offer health insurance to thousands of low-income adults. The overwhelmingly Republican state Legislature has rejected the federal expansion offer repeatedly in recent years. Many critics say they don’t trust federal promises to continue to pay for the program. (1/20)
Casper Star-Tribune:
Scott Questions Increased Costs Of Medicaid Expansion Alternative
One of the key backers of a Senate bill to expand Wyoming’s Medicaid program is dismissing estimates that the bill would require higher administrative costs than the plan favored by Gov. Matt Mead. ... Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, is chairman of the Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee. He says this method would help control costs by making residents more responsible for their health care. (Chilton, 1/21)
Topeka Capital-Journal:
Ward Introduces Medicaid Expansion Legislation
A House Democrat introduced a package of bills Tuesday to counter Republicans blocking expansion of Medicaid in the state, to allow people with disabilities to exit the state’s overhauled Medicaid program and to abandon a plan for joining a multi-state compact to operate Medicare for the elderly. Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat on the House Health and Human Services Committee, has been a fierce critic of Gov. Sam Brownback’s opposition to widening eligibility for Medicaid. (Carpenter, 1/20)
Chattanooga Times Free Press:
Tennessee Physicians Back Haslam's Insurance Plan
The state's largest physicians' organization says it is fully backing Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's Insure Tennessee proposal to extend subsidized health insurance coverage to an estimated 200,000 lower-income residents. Tennessee Medical Association officials said the group's Board of Trustees voted over the weekend in support of the plan. (1/20)
The Associated Press:
Lost Federal Money Quandary For Hospitals
Florida health officials and lawmakers are facing a quandary over how to replace the likely annual loss of $1.3 billion in federal funds which compensate hospitals and providers that care for large numbers of uninsured and Medicaid patients. (1/20)
The Associated Press:
Republicans Criticize Va. Governor's Mental Health Care Plan
House Republicans say Gov. Terry McAuliffe has implemented a poorly conceived plan to provide health care coverage for low-income Virginians with severe mental illnesses. Republicans said on the House floor on Tuesday that McAuliffe's plan is a political ploy that was implemented without General Assembly approval by improperly invoking emergency authority. Their criticism signals the latest chapter in a long-running battle with McAuliffe over public health care spending for poor. (Suderman, 1/20)
CQ Healthbeat:
Childless Adults Face Hurdles Qualifying For Medicaid, Survey Shows
States have broadened Medicaid coverage dramatically in the past decade, particularly as 27 states and the District of Columbia expanded coverage to adults last year under the health care law, according to a new report by the Georgetown Center for Children and Families and the Kaiser Family Foundation. But in almost all of the 23 states that did not broaden coverage as the health care law allows, adults who don’t have children often do not qualify for Medicaid, no matter how low their income is. (Adams, 1/20)
The New York Times:
Texas’ New Governor Echoes The Plans Of Perry
Democrats and health care advocates had hoped that Mr. Abbott would reverse Mr. Perry’s refusal to expand Medicaid in the state, which has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country. But Mr. Abbott made it clear recently that he would not expand the government health insurance program for low-income and sick people, with a spokeswoman saying that he had “fought Obamacare and will continue to fight against it.” Such statements angered Democrats, many of whom worry that Mr. Abbott will continue to promote Mr. Perry’s small-government mantra, which they said fails to provide an adequate safety net for all. But Mr. Abbott’s approach has reassured Republicans, who control the Legislature and every top office and who argue that the Texas model has brought jobs and built a strong economy. (Fernandez, 1/20)
