Latest Morning Briefing Stories
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.
More Than One In Four Foster Kids Miss Required Checkups
Although children in foster care have often suffered neglect or abuse, 29 percent failed to receive at least one required medical screening, according to an inspector general’s report.
Critics: Medicaid Services Ill. Gov. Rauner Would Cut Save Illinois Money
Some legislators and patient advocates say the targeted services, including dental and mental health services, not only help keep people healthy — they save the state money.
States Add Dental Coverage For Adults On Medicaid But Struggle to Meet Demand
Dentists say they’re reluctant to see Medicaid patients because they’re typically paid about half as much as they get from private patients.
Government To Grade Nursing Homes On Tougher Scale
Nursing homes now will be graded on their use of anti-psychotic drugs and will have to do more to get top ratings on the federal website Nursing Home Compare.
A Q&A On Achieving Mental Health Parity In Medicaid Managed Care
Emily Feinstein, the director of health law and policy at the substance abuse and addiction center CASAColumbia, discusses her expectations for a proposed mental health parity rule in Medicaid managed care, and outlines some of the issues in play regarding these proposed regulations.
More Governors Embrace Medicaid Expansion, But With Changes
Some advocates worry these changes could push Medicaid further away from its original purpose, which was to provide affordable health insurance for the needy.
With Half of California’s Kids On Medicaid, Advocates Worry About Service
More children than ever before have enrolled in Medi-Cal, half of children in California, causing concern about timely access to treatment.
Indiana Medicaid Expansion May Tempt Other GOP-Led States
A three-year agreement between Indiana and the federal government imposes cost-sharing on poor adults and uses a cigarette tax and a fee on hospitals to pay the state’s costs of expanding Medicaid — and could lead to other GOP-led states following suit.
