2011
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‘Tis the Season for Medicaid Performance Bonuses
‘Twas nearing the end of two thousand eleven Performance bonus time; new states total seven In addition to sixteen that earned a bonus last year Twenty-three states have $296 million reasons to cheer Child advocates are proud of the effort they led Tactics for removing red tape dance in their heads With Medicaid and…
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State Cuts to Medicaid Affect Patients, Providers
Associated Press December 27, 2011 ATLANTA (AP) — Just as Medicaid prepares for a vast expansion under the federal health care overhaul, the 47-year-old entitlement program for the poor is under increasing pressure as deficit-burdened states chip away at benefits and cut payments to doctors. View Full Article
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Setting the Record Straight on Medicaid Spending
By Tara Mancini Last week, NASBO released their 2010 Report of State Expenditures and per usual, the top line message picked-up by most of the media was the large share of state expenditures used on Medicaid. However, there are always exceptions to the rule, and Kristen Stewart writing for a Salt Lake City Tribune Blog…
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Uninsured Child Population Shrinks by 1 Million
American Medical News December 19, 2011 Washington — The number of uninsured children decreased significantly in recent years, largely because Medicaid started covering more kids who otherwise would have remained uninsured. But state leaders are concerned that budget deficits will continue in the near future because of a weak economic recovery and steadily increasing Medicaid…
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HHS Suggests States Will Have Choices on Essential Health Benefits
By Joe Touschner For nearly a year now, we’ve been tracking the process of defining the essential health benefits. The EHB package will define the minimum set of benefits to be covered by insurance plans in the individual and small group markets as well as benchmark Medicaid plans and Basic Health Programs. On Friday afternoon,…
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As Pa. Slashes Medicaid Rolls, Advocates Cry Foul
Newsworks December 16, 2011 Pennsylvania has cut more than 130,000 people from its Medicaid rolls since July, more than a third of them children. The state says it has been targeting waste, fraud and abuse, but advocates say those who have a legitimate claim on health insurance are getting the ax. Read the Full Article
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Pa.’s Drop in Medicaid Rolls Stirs Controversy
Since August, the Corbett administration has cut off more than 150,000 people – including 43,000 children – from medical assistance in a drive to save costs. That purge far exceeds what any other state has tried, health policy experts say, and officials may be walking a fine line between rooting out waste and erecting barriers…
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Studies Point to flaws in Florida’s Medicaid Managed Care
Stateline December 14, 2011 Like many other states in fiscal duress, Florida sliced a large portion of its Medicaid budget this fiscal year, primarily by cutting payments to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers. Next year, Governor Rick Scott wants to double the size of reductions to the federal-state program — again by…
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Coming Soon to a State Near You? Wisconsin seeks to preview a slasher triple feature
By Jon Peacock, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families A drama has been slowly unfolding in Wisconsin relating to the shape of the state’s Medicaid program. If it were made into a movie, it would be a slasher film with an unwilling cast of nearly half of the 780,000 people enrolled in Wisconsin’s highly successful…
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Florida Puts Squeeze on Medicaid Outlays
Kaiser Health News December 9, 2011 Like other states, Florida is feeling squeezed by the soaring cost of Medicaid. But its response is drawing fire from hospitals, and the Obama administration may be pushing back. Republican Gov. Rick Scott this week proposed to slash Florida’s spending in the joint state-federal health insurance program for the…
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New Medicaid Plan Could Undo Florida’s Gains, Study Says
Orlando Sentinel December 9, 2011 Proposed changes to the state’s Medicaid plan, including one that would charge Florida’s beneficiaries $10 a month per family member for coverage, could lead to 800,000 parents and children leaving the program, according to a report released Dec. 7 from the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University. View the Full…
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State’s Medicaid Overhaul Could Result in Disenrollment of 800,000
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting December 9, 2011 Ten dollars may not seem like much money. Most Floridians — certainly most adult Floridians – would probably jump at the chance to pay $10 a month to get some basic healthcare. But what happens when poor families with multiple children – families already struggling to pay…
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Examining Medicaid Managed Long-Term Service and Support Programs: Key Issues To Consider
By Laura Summer, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute (Editor’s Note: Given the increasing interest in Medicaid managed care among states eager to achieve cost-savings, we asked our colleague Laura Summer to blog for us on her latest report on managed care. Her report focused on long-term care services but it provides some helpful insights into broader…
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Proposed Medicaid Premiums Threaten Children’s Health Coverage in Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The monthly premiums that the State of Florida hopes to impose on all Medicaid beneficiaries could result in 800,000 Florida children and parents leaving the program and risking their access to health coverage because they cannot afford to pay the fees, according to new research by the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown…
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Proposed Medicaid Premiums Challenge Coverage for Florida’s Children and Parents
Florida’s proposed changes to its Medicaid program include a requirement for nearly all Medicaid beneficiaries, including children, who are enrolled in managed-care plans to pay a $10 monthly premium as a condition for Medicaid eligibility. This could result in 800,000 Florida children and parents – the majority of them children in very-low-income families –leaving Florida…
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Looking Ahead to 2012, What Changes Are In Store for Florida’s Medicaid Program?
Medicaid is a critical part of Florida’s health care system. It covers 3.1 million people in the state, the majority of whom are children. In 2006, a five-year pilot program that replaced traditional Medicaid with an unusual managed-care model and other features that required a Section 1115 waiver from the federal government. In 2012, there…
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800,000 to Lose Florida Medicaid?
Health New Florida December 7, 2011 About 800,000 people may be forced out of the state’s Medicaid program if they must pay the $10 per month premium proposed by the Florida Legislature last spring, according to a report released today. More than 660,000 of those who lose coverage are likely to be children, says the…
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Federal Health Law Offers New Benefits for Children of State Workers
Stateline December 7, 2011 When the national health law was enacted early last year, it contained one seemingly technical provision that few people noticed. It lifted a ban on state employees enrolling their kids in the federally subsidized Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). In fact, that was no small move. It promised relief from a…
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Study: Fla. Medicaid Premiums Too High
The Miami Herald December 7, 2011 New premiums and copay proposals for Florida Medicaid beneficiaries, including $100 for every non-emergency ER visit, are among the highest in the country and a new study warns it could cause hundreds of thousands to drop out because they can’t afford to pay them, according to a report released…
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Researchers Warn Proposed Changes to Florida’s Medicaid Could Drop 600,000 Poor Children from Rolls
The Palm Beach Post December 7, 2011 Proposed changes to the state’s Medicaid program that would have parents pay a monthly $10 premium per person for coverage threatens to undo all the strides Florida has made in getting health care to the state’s poorest children, researchers warned Wednesday. The premium, combined with several other changes…