Medicaid and the Uninsured: March 23, 2023

Medicaid Health Plans Try to Protect Members — And Profits — During Unwinding
By Phil Galewitz
States are turning to the big health insurance companies to keep Medicaid enrollees insured once pandemic protections end in April. The insurers’ motive: profits.

After People on Medicaid Die, Some States Aggressively Seek Repayment From Their Estates
By Tony Leys
States take drastically different approaches to recovering Medicaid money from deceased participants’ estates. Demands for repayment of Medicaid spending can drain the assets a person leaves behind, depending on where they lived.

Biden Promises to Fight GOP on ‘Gutting’ Medicaid. Budget Talks Seem Like Another Story.
By Michael McAuliff
As many lower-income Americans prepare to lose pandemic-era access to Medicaid, President Joe Biden vowed to stop Republicans from making deeper cuts to lower the national debt. Other changes may still be up for discussion.

Reentry Programs to Help Former Prisoners Obtain Health Care Are Often Underused
By Renuka Rayasam
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.

Covid Aid Papered Over Colorado Hospital’s Financial Shortcomings
By Markian Hawryluk
Financial pitfalls at the nation’s highest-elevation hospital serve as a cautionary tale as rural hospitals emerge from the pandemic on shaky ground.

Prescription for Housing? California Wants Medicaid to Cover 6 Months of Rent
By Angela Hart
Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a bold push for Medicaid health plans to provide more housing support. He argues it’s cheaper to pay for rent than to allow homeless people to fall into crisis, which requires costly care in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.

Idaho Dropped Thousands From Medicaid in the Pandemic’s First Years
By Rachana Pradhan
The removals, detailed in emails between state and federal health officials, hinged on disagreements over how states could disenroll people during the public health emergency. Consumer advocates fear the alleged violation signals the mess to come on April 1, when the pandemic-era Medicaid coverage mandate ends.

California’s Massive Medicaid Program Works for Some, but Fails Many Others
By Angela Hart and Bernard J. Wolfson
Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the state’s population — offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new “Faces of Medi-Cal” series, California Healthline will assess the program’s strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.

California Dangles Bonuses for Nursing Homes That Add Staff
By Samantha Young
Rather than simply reward top-performing facilities, the state’s Medicaid program will hand bonuses to nursing homes — even low-rated ones — for hiring more workers and reducing staff turnover.

Senators Have Mental Health Crises, Too
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. It’s a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

California Explores Private Insurance for Immigrants Lacking Legal Status. But Is It Affordable?
By Rachel Bluth
Nearly half a million Californians without legal residency make too much to qualify for Medicaid yet they can’t afford to buy coverage. A state lawmaker is proposing to open up the state’s health insurance exchange as a first step to providing them affordable insurance.

Community Workers Fan Out to Persuade Immigrant Seniors to Get Covered
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report
California has enrolled into Medi-Cal more than 300,000 older immigrant adults lacking legal residency since May, but the state doesn’t know how many more might be eligible. Community workers are now searching for them.

Journalists Discuss Medicaid Unwinding and Clawbacks
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Journalists Discuss Insulin Prices, Gun Violence, Distracted Driving, and More
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Planes de salud de Medicaid intentan proteger a sus miembros… y a sus ganancias
By Phil Galewitz
Estos planes, muchos administrados por titanes de los seguros, incluidos UnitedHealthcare, Centene y Aetna, han visto aumentar sus ingresos en miles de millones a medida que su membresía aumentaba en millones.

Trabajadores comunitarios persuaden a inmigrantes mayores de tener cobertura de salud
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report
Hasta octubre, el mes más reciente para el que hay disponibles datos, más de 300,000 adultos mayores inmigrantes que no tienen residencia legal se habían inscrito en el Medi-Cal completo, un 30% más que la proyección original del estado.