2013
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Medicaid growth creates gap of 5M without coverage
Associated Press December 30, 2013 By Marc Levy, HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — About 5 million people will be without health care next year that they would have gotten simply if they lived somewhere else in America. They make up a coverage gap in President Barack Obama’s signature health care law created by the domino effects…
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23 States Receive CHIPRA Performance Awards
As anticipated, CMS announced the fifth (and final?) round of CHIPRA performance bonuses to states that have been successful in enrolling more eligible children in Medicaid. Twenty-three states will ring in 2014 with $307 million, thanks to their commitment to streamlined eligibility and enrollment systems that make it easier for families to enroll their children.…
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Iowa Opens The Doors To Medicaid Coverage, On Its Own Terms
Iowa Public Radio December 26, 2013 By Clay Masters, At the Central Iowa Shelter and Services in Des Moines, Iowa, health insurance navigator Andrea Pearce stood in a crowded dining hall on a recent day, shouting instructions on how residents can sign up for Medicaid. “If you do not have insurance and you want to…
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Budget Deal Kicks “Medicaid Extenders” Down the Road, Adds DSH Delay
Earlier I wrote about progress in the Senate on the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) repeal, or “doc fix,” which passed the Finance committee with the Medicaid extenders intact. Since time was running out for the House and Senate to agree on the exact terms for a permanent SGR fix, the Murray-Ryan budget agreement on…
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Many Southern States Miss Opportunity to Address Health Disparities
By Tara Mancini A new report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) indicates that a little more than half (53%) of uninsured people of color have family income at or below 138% and therefore should qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as the ACA originally intended. Yet, almost a third (30%) of…
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CCF Partners with Urban Institute and Packard on New Health Reform Survey
By Martha Heberlein Today, Health Affairs released a paper detailing a new (and in our opinion a very exciting!) survey – the Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS) – designed by the Urban Institute. This internet-based survey is intended to provide rapid-cycle feedback on changes under the ACA. The goal is to replicate key outcome measures…
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Pennsylvania isn’t serious about expanding Medicaid. How do we know?
Los Angeles Times December 14, 2013 By Michael Hiltzik Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has lately been getting credit in the political press for being one of those Republican governors coming around on the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Advocates for the underprivileged can’t understand why. They’re right to wonder. Corbett’s “Healthy Pennsylvania” plan, which was released for public comment…
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Health Policy Institute Releases New Report on Florida’s Medicaid Long-Term Care Program
By Laura Summer, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Florida’s new Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care program is in place in six regions of the state and will be fully operational statewide by March 1, 2014. Planning for this new program has been in the works for several years. In 2011, the Florida legislature established the two-part…
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Report Shows Health Coverage Progress for Mississippi Kids
Soundbite Services JACKSON, Miss. – There’s some good news for Mississippi and the nation in terms of getting health coverage for more children. About 8700 more kids have health insurance in Mississippi today than in 2010, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Nationally, it says more kids are insured…
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Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Waiver Proposal Does Not Impress
Last Friday, Governor Corbett’s Administration released it’s Section 1115 waiver application draft. This initiates the process for the required 30-day state comment period that must precede the submission of the waiver request to the federal government. The state will be holding a series of public hearings and webinars with the final hearing in Harrisburg…
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Patience and Flexibility Needed as Those with New Insurance Start Using Health Care Services After January 1
Now that healthcare.gov is working much better and enrollment numbers are rising, it is a good time to think about being prepared for the January 1 launch of new coverage. Beyond counting enrollment, the media are already focused on what will happen to those who sign up for insurance effective on January 1. If Sophie…
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Children’s Health Insurance Program still unclear for kids
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 11, 2013 By Kate Giammaris, HARRISBURG — The administration of Gov. Tom Corbett is asking the federal government to grant about 50,000 low-income families a choice between keeping their child’s health insurance under the Children’s Health Insurance Program or giving them the option of Medicaid coverage. Under the federal Affordable Care Act,…
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Report: More California Children Have Health Insurance
East County Magazine December 11, 2013 More California children are getting the health care coverage they need. According to a report from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, more than 100,000 California kids gained health insurance between 2010 and 2012, which puts the state’s uninsured rate among children at about 8 percent. Despite high poverty…
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Senate Finance Committee to Consider Medicaid and CHIP Extensions
Today, the Senate Finance Committee released a draft summary and description of the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) repeal, or “doc fix,” bill that committee will take up Thursday morning. While the Medicare “doc fix,” a move to permanently change the way Medicare pays providers, is the committee’s featured event, the Chairman’s Mark also seeks…
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Long-Term Care Transition Bumpy
Health News Florida December 11, 2013 By Mary Shedden, Florida’s unprecedented transition to managed care for its most fragile Medicaid patients is working, but questions remain about its benefit down the road, according to a report from Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute released today. About 40 different individuals involved in the early phases of shifting…
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Georgetown report raises more questions about Florida Medicaid reform
Orlando Sentinel December 11, 2013 By Aaron Deslatte, TALLAHASSEE — A new Georgetown University report is questioning whether Florida’s handover of millions of Medicaid patients to managed-care companies will be able to achieve the twin goals of cutting costs and improving health. In short, the first steps of the changeover had some “glitches” and left some patients in MetroOrlando confused…
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Iowa Wins Approval To Expand Medicaid By Using Federal Funds To Buy Private Plans
Kaiser Health News December 10, 2013 By Julie Appleby, The Obama administration Tuesday granted Iowa much of what it requested to move forward with a Medicaid expansion through the use of private insurance plans but refused to allow the state to charge premiums for those who earn less than the federal poverty level. If the…
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Iowa gets limited permission to impose Medicaid premiums
Modern Healthcare December 10, 2013 By Virgil Dickson, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad won permission from the Obama administration for most of his alternative approach to expanding Medicaid, but it wasn’t clear Tuesdaywhether the Republican governor would move forward without as much leeway as he wanted to impose premiums on lower-income beneficiaries. The CMS approved a waiver paving…
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The feds sign off on expanding Medicaid to 100,000 Iowans
The Washington Post December 10, 2013 By Sarah Kliff, The federal government gave Iowa the go-ahead on Tuesday to expand its Medicaid program — and, in the process, gave the state a new flexibility to tweak the public program’s benefit package. The Plum LIne’s Greg Sargent reported earlier Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services was preparing…
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Iowa Medicaid Expansion Waiver Approved!
Just in time for Christmas, and more importantly in time to get the program up and running by January 1st, federal CMS has granted Iowa’s request for two Section 1115 waivers to allow the state to pursue its own version of Medicaid expansion. This is good news for the more than 100,000 Iowans who stand…