More Than 1.7 Million Consumers Still Wait For Medicaid Decisions
Technological glitches at the federal and state levels and inadequate staffing have delayed eligibility determinations.
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Technological glitches at the federal and state levels and inadequate staffing have delayed eligibility determinations.
While a growing number of states are contracting with managed care companies to manage their Medicaid programs, there are still questions about cost savings and quality.
Critics contend the state is making it harder for people to enroll or renew their coverage.
Among those who are worried are agencies that provide adult foster care for people who can't live on their own, because of severe mental illness or developmental disabilities.
Advocates say that the option will provide more flexibility for students who are eligible for the state-federal health program for low-income people.
Many inner-city hospitals in Medicaid-expansion states report big drops in the number of uninsured people for whom they provide care.
Some embattled Democrats see Medicaid expansion as a winning issue.
California is among 25 states to open Medicaid to childless adults, including thousands of ex-offenders. Covering this group is expected to save money and perhaps reduce recidivism.
There are now three times more people with serious mental illness incarcerated in the United States than in hospitals, and the types of behavioral and mental health problems among inmates are becoming more severe.
The number of state workers needed to expand the federal-state health care program for poorer Americans is far higher than most states have needed -- typically in the dozens, not hundreds.
A survey conducted in Seattle found that half the time, primary-care providers listed as accepting new patients on Medicaid managed-care organization websites, in fact were not accepting new patients.
Despite the procedural victory, even a GOP supporter of the bill does not expect passage of the Medicaid expansion plan during this legislative session.
Hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients are being shifted into some kind of managed care this year as part of a sweeping overhaul.
Teresa Martinez, 62, from East Los Angeles makes $10,000 a year working as a hairdresser in a Koreatown salon. With her modest income she is likely to be eligible for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act's Medi-Cal expansion.
About 800,000 people in California are presumed to be eligible for the newly expanded program but lack final approval. For a Los Angeles hairdresser and others like her, that means medical appointments are on hold.
One of the most successful initiatives in the Affordable Care Act has been the effort to sign up patients to be covered by Medicaid under an expanded program. Now comes the hard part: facing up to challenges brought on by having so many more people in the program.
Some of Missouri's working poor have had no dental coverage since benefits were cut in 2005.
With a climate especially bad for asthmatics, Missouri has been a pioneer in fighting the disease.
The former governor has been meeting with legislators, some of whom weren't born when he first came to Jefferson City as state auditor in 1970.
As the first open enrollment period draws to a close, here are seven things to watch for clues about what the health law's future might hold.
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