Latest Morning Briefing Stories
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.
Montana Moderates Revive Medicaid Expansion
A crucial vote Thursday could make Montana the 29th state to opt into the health law’s Medicaid expansion.
Many People With Substance Abuse Problems May Find Few To Treat Them
More people are getting insurance coverage for addiction treatment, but there’s already a shortage of trained professionals.
Rule Proposed On Providing Mental Health ‘Parity’ In Medicaid Program
Seven years after passing a mental health parity law, the federal government issues its first proposal on how public programs such as Medicaid and CHIP should comply.
Shifts In Earnings For Consumers Near Medicaid Line Can Threaten Coverage
Marketplaces face challenges ensuring that low-income customers continue to get coverage if their incomes change to put them above or below the Medicaid eligibility line.
Cleveland Clinic Reports 40% Drop In Charity Care After Medicaid Expansion
HHS says the improvement reflects what is happening to hospitals in states that increased the number of low-income people eligible for the health care program.
The Red State Solution On Medicaid: Georgia’s Not Part Of It
The final piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s series on Arkansas’ privatized Medicaid expansion looks at how several red states are considering such a model as a politically palatable way to extend coverage to the poor.
Some Face A Big Bill From Medi-Cal — After They Die
California is one of the few states that charge the estates of deceased Medicaid beneficiaries for the cost of their health coverage. A bill is moving through the state legislature to stop the practice.
Obamacare Cash Helps Pay Texas’ Medicaid Bill
A provision of the Affordable Care Act that covers some Medicaid administrative costs will help close a $338 million gap in the state’s Medicaid budget, even though Texas has declined to expand the health program for the poor.
Is Arkansas’ ‘Private Option’ Medicaid Expansion A Solution For Other Red States?
Several GOP-led states are taking note of Arkansas’ market-based approach to Medicaid expansion, but questions remain about its long-term costs and effectiveness.
Missouri Medicaid Turns To Wellness Incentives
Incentives designed to spur enrollees to exercise, eat healthier and make regular doctor visits are built into Medicaid managed care contracts that Missouri officials recently awarded to three insurers.
Rural Hospitals, One Of The Cornerstones Of Small Town Life, Face Increasing Pressure
For people in Mount Vernon, Texas, the loss of their hospital means longer trips for treatment and uncertainty when a medical crisis hits.
Missouri Gov. Endorses Work Requirement As Part Of Medicaid Expansion Plan
Despite the Democrat’s embrace of a work requirement for the first time, the plan got a hostile reaction from some GOP lawmakers.
Republican Lawmakers Sink Montana Governor’s Medicaid Expansion Plan
A House committee gives the bill a “do not pass” recommendation, which effectively kills Democrats’ efforts to get it on the House floor. A Republican counter-proposal that includes premiums and co-payments for Medicaid enrollees may come out of the state Senate.
Pa. Medicaid Expansion Switch To Be Done By September
The switch from the previous governor’s privatized Medicaid expansion alternative to Gov. Tom Wolf’s traditional plan will take several months because of IT issues.
No Medicaid Expansion? No Problem For Many Safety-Net Hospital Profits
In some of the largest states that did not expand Medicaid, many safety-net hospitals turned in strong performances in 2014, according to financial documents.
Texas GOP Leaders Say They Won’t Expand Medicaid
Republican lawmakers asked the Obama administration for greater flexibility to administer the state-federal insurance program and reiterated their lack of interest in expanding eligibility under the federal health law.
