Latest Morning Briefing Stories
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.
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.
