Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicaid Expansion Is Still A Tumultuous Fight In Several States
Medicaid expansion was a big deal in a handful of states’ legislatures this year. Wyoming said no, Tennessee said no. Montana said yes in last-minute maneuvering, and three more states are coming down to the wire, including Utah, Alaska and Florida.
Missteps By Missouri Medicaid Become Ammunition For Expansion Foes
A stinging federal audit and complaints of long wait times give reluctant lawmakers a line of attack.
Georgia Weighs Medicaid Experiment (But Not Expansion)
State health officials say they will seek increased federal funding and permission to “experiment” with Medicaid to shore up rural and safety net hospitals.
Florida Governor Leaves D.C. Meeting Empty-Handed
Despite ‘a good conversation’ with HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Gov. Rick Scott gets no commitment on uncompensated care funding.
Paying Medicaid Enrollees To Get Checkups, Quit Smoking and Lose Weight: Will It Pay Off?
Like wellness programs in the private sector, more than a dozen states are offering incentives to Medicaid enrollees to spur them to make healthier decisions — and potentially save taxpayers money.
Hope, Hurdles In Mental Health: A Medicaid Managed Care Firm’s First Year
Some say Cardinal’s first year’s performance has eased fears about care in Charlotte, N.C., but gaps and challenges remain.
Montana Governor Signs Medicaid Expansion Into Law
Backers of Medicaid expansion celebrated in Helena as Gov. Steve Bullock signed the bill extending the health coverage to an estimated 45,000 more Montanans.
Florida House Goes Home Early Over Medicaid Impasse
Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott sues the federal government, saying the state is being coerced to accept the expansion or lose dollars for other health care programs for the poor.
Medicaid’s Tension: Getting Corporate Giants To Do Right By The Needy
Tennessee’s TennCare program awaits federal rules to limit insurer profits and set stricter standards for quality and doctor networks — the biggest rules change for Medicaid managed care in a decade.
Medicaid Programs Slow To Discourage Methadone Prescriptions Despite Widespread Problems
The federal government has been issuing warnings about the dangers of overdosing and addiction to methadone for nearly a decade. But only in the past two years have states started removing it from their Medicaid “preferred drug lists.”
Thousands May Have Been Shorted On Insurance Subsidies After Calculation Error
Some families likely received lower subsidies than they were entitled to or were denied Medicaid coverage because of faulty calculations related to children who receive Social Security income.
Tennessee, Kansas Also Get Warning: Expand Medicaid Or Risk Hospital Funds
Federal officials have warned several states that their reluctance to expand Medicaid could cost them special federal funding to treat the uninsured.
Medicaid Expands In Other States, But Not Florida
Other states have overcome political opposition to Medicaid expansion and adopted plans to bring government-subsidized coverage to more of their low-income residents.
Relying On The Health Care Safety Net: Choosing Between Dinner And A Medical Test
Without Medicaid expansion, South Florida’s low-income residents have found out the hard way that the healthcare safety net designed to catch people before they hit bottom is no substitute for insurance.
850,000 Floridians Stuck In Health Care Limbo — And No Solution In Sight
With legislators seemingly deadlocked on Medicaid expansion in Florida, residents in the “coverage gap” are stitching together their medical care through personal ingenuity, half doses of medicines and low-cost clinics.
15 States Extend Health Law’s Higher Medicaid Payments To Doctors
The health law temporarily paid doctors more to handle the expected influx of patients when states expanded their Medicaid programs and some states are continuing that program because they find it has helped attract providers to the program.
There May Still Be Time To Save On Health Law’s Tax Penalties
Some consumers who face a 2014 tax bill can make adjustments to improve their liability.
FAQ: Congress Passes A Bill To Fix Medicare’s Doctor Payments. What’s In It?
A rare bipartisan effort will scrap the troubled physician payment formula and transition to a system focused on new quality measures.
Audit: Missouri Medicaid Failed To Bill Drugmakers For More Than $50M In Rebates
HHS auditors recommend Missouri repay more than $34 million to the federal government, but state officials dispute the findings.
Medicaid Expansion One Step Closer To Reality In Montana
The bill picked up two more Republican votes in the state House and has the support of the governor.
