Can Florida Really Alter Medicaid?
Florida Republican leaders said Tuesday they want to overhaul the Medicaid program and don't want the federal government tying their hands. But their message may fall on deaf ears in Washington.
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Florida Republican leaders said Tuesday they want to overhaul the Medicaid program and don't want the federal government tying their hands. But their message may fall on deaf ears in Washington.
A blue-ribbon bipartisan panel of experts, chaired by former budget director Alice Rivlin and former Sen. Pete Domenici, recommends major changes to the way the government pays for health care.
The new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launched Tuesday a series of initiatives aimed at improving care while reducing its cost.
Dr. Donald Berwick, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is well-liked and known as a passionate advocate for improving the health care system. Some Republicans accuse him of favoring health care rationing - a charge Democrats dismiss as nonsense.
Tomorrow, Dr. Donald Berwick, the adminstrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on Finance. Here is an advance copy of his prepared statement.
As budget-weary state officials contemplate dropping out of the Medicaid program, a potentially game-changing question has arisen in Washington: Would poor people who lose coverage get subsidies to buy private coverage?
Faced with widening deficits, some conservative legislators in Texas and other states explore the "nuclear option" - quitting the state-federal health program for the poor.
But states' increasing use of the private plans is raising questions about whether low-income residents are getting adequate care.
In states like Illinois, parents can provide at-home care for children with severe illnesses and Medicaid foots the bill. But the funding disappears the minute they turn 21, forcing families to make a painful choice: Find the money to pay for sometimes exorbitant health care costs or send their children to a nursing home.
Hospitals play an enormous role in the health care system; they're a crucial part of the public health safety net and an important community resource. But they are expensive. Hospital costs make up the largest portion of the health spending in this country.
After years of steady progress, the percentage of 2 year olds in private health plans being immunized dropped last year, while it went up for Medicaid patients.
People who live in long-term care are much more likely to be sent to the hospital, sometimes unnecessarily, which can harm patients and drive up Medicare costs.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services' baseline budget request eliminates financing for some disabled people who are waiting to receive services in private homes, group homes or other community settings.
A number of interest groups, state officials and ordinary citizens are seeking to have the health care law struck down in federal court, and action is heating up this week.
While the federal government is investing heavily in anti-fraud efforts, private insurers should be given incentives to do the same.
The recession's double whammy - less money and more need - is leaving states with reduced tax revenues and increasing numbers of people enrolling in the federal-state health care program for the poor.
Dr. Richard Gilfillan, the new acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, has quite a juggling act to perform.
With this collection of resources, KHN provides a Census Bureau summary of key findings, the chapter on health insurance coverage and access the full report, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009."
When it comes to health care, the Florida governor's race offers voters a clear choice. Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Alex Sink disagree on hot-button issues from abortion to Medicaid.
Florida and other states faced with soaring Medicaid rolls amid a stubborn recession are struggling to balance their budgets.
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