2017
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Law Firm Investigating Florida Children’s Insurance Scandal
Insurance Business America By Ryan Smith The investigation is being undertaken by the Pomerantz Law Firm on behalf of investors in UnitedHealth Group. The law firm is examining the insurer after a CNN.com report alleged that state health officials in Florida removed thousands of sick children from Children’s Medical Services (CMS) – a part of…
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Commentary: Rural hospitals are vanishing; keep Medicaid in Texas
Austin American Statesman By Michael Williams First, there was hope for people in rural communities needing health care. As part of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid was expanded in 31 states and the District of Columbia, offering new coverage to millions and renewed hope for rural hospitals struggling to remain financially viable — many serving…
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Telehealth — A “Glimmer of Hope” on Health Care Front
New America Media By Eric Licas ORANGE, Calif. — Lawmakers, medical professionals and other advocates for accessible health care say technology that allows providers to remotely see patients will dramatically improve the availability of medical services. … Removing language barriers allows for more efficient communication between doctors and patients that can lead to more effective…
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Pediatricians Say Florida Hurt Sick Kids To Help Big GOP Donors
CNN Health By Elizabeth Cohen and Katherine Grise Like nearly half of all children in Florida, LJ is on Medicaid, which has several types of insurance plans. The state had switched LJ to a new plan, and his surgeons didn’t take it. … “These are the sickest and most vulnerable kids, and (changing their insurance)…
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Congressional Plate Full, Womack Says
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By Doug Thompson The U.S. House has until the end of September to pass a budget, a debt ceiling increase and a bevy of bills important to Arkansas, said Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers. … “Over half of the kids in the state receive benefits” from the program, said Marquita Little, health programs…
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Trading Kids’ Health for Political Favors?
MedPage Today Pediatricians in Florida and health experts elsewhere questioned whether politics played a role in the switching of 13,000 high-risk children from the state’s comprehensive Medicaid program to lesser plans that many physician don’t accept, CNN reported. … “These are the sickest and most vulnerable kids, and (changing their insurance) can mean life or death for…
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Arkansas’s Laura Kellams Receives Georgetown CCF’s 2017 Bulldog Award
In 2014, we started the “Bulldog of the Year” award, to honor a state advocate that embodies bulldog-like tenacity and stubbornness in the quest to improve health care for children. (Georgetown’s mascot, Jack, is a bulldog.) I was so excited that one of my favorite people on the planet, Laura Kellams, was awarded this year’s…
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The Future of Health Care in California
Los Angeles Sentinel By Charlene Muhammad Experts and health care providers briefed ethnic media about the future of healthcare in California as the debate about the Trump Administration’s repeal and replace of the Affordable Care Act continues. … Mayra Alvarez, president, The Children’s Partnership, which works to improve the lives of underprivileged children, noted that…
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Groups Urge Congress to Renew Children’s Health Insurance Program
WIZM By Mitch Reynolds Lower income kids suddenly not having health coverage is a real possibility in just a few weeks. Kids Forward in Wisconsin is among the groups warning against Congress delaying a vote on renewing the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). … Jon Peacock, with the group Kids Forward, says renewal is important…
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Arkansas and Nevada Latest to Eliminate 5-Year Waiting Period for Lawfully Residing Children
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 gave states the option to improve Medicaid access by waiving the 5-year waiting period for lawfully residing immigrant children. With Arkansas and Nevada coming on board, this option has now been adopted by 33 states. Earlier this year, the Arkansas legislature passed a resolution to waive…
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Lots of Questions but Few Answers: NAIC’s 2017 Summer Meeting
Originally posted on CHIRblog. For those who follow the fate of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, it’s hard to escape the daily reports of the status of federal funding for cost-sharing reductions(CSR), the subsidies that lower out-of-pocket costs for low-income marketplace enrollees. The Trump administration won’t commit to funding the reimbursements to insurers for the rest of 2017…
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Will Congress Pass CHIP Renewal?
MedPage Today By Shannon Firth WASHINGTON — Federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is slated to expire on Sept. 30, giving Congress a tight deadline to renew the popular program — and also an opportunity to hang other less-popular pieces of legislation onto what is widely seen as a “must-pass” bill. …..…
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California Kids Still Face Risks to Health Care
New America Media By Viji Sundarum Get repeal and replace done, or else! That ultimatum by President Trump to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ordering him to get rid of Obamacare may be mere sabre rattling, but nevertheless the majority of Republicans in the Senate are still bent on upending the health care law despite three…
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Arizona Children Most at Risk if Congress Fails to Renew CHIP
As the deadline to extend Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding looms, states are in the difficult position of deciding what to do if new funds don’t materialize. As we’ve written before, Arizona is squarely in the crosshairs as the state whose children are most immediately at risk if CHIP funding is not renewed during…
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Some Lawmakers See Leeway In Children’s Health Program Deadline
Congressional Quarterly The Children’s Health Insurance Program’s funding deadline looms at the end of next month, but advocacy groups are worried that reauthorization won’t be addressed until funding is fully exhausted later in the year. … “There is a false sense that Congress has more time to act,” said Elisabeth Wright Burak, senior program…
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Arkansas Health Hub Panel Urges Slight ‘Navigator’ Funding Rise
Arkansas Democrat By Andy Davis A committee of the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace recommended Wednesday that the agency slightly increase its spending on outreach workers to help people sign up for coverage. … Committee member Marquita Little, health care policy director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said she is concerned that the state’s…
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Federal Funding Expiration Has Utah Health Groups Concerned
KUER By Erik Neumann September 30th marks the end of the federal government’s fiscal year. Local healthcare advocates are concerned because it’s the time when federal funding for two health programs in Utah is set to expire. …. Jessie Mandle is a Senior Health Policy Analyst at Voices for Utah Children. “Just given the overall…
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State Data on Seniors’ Health Coverage in Small Towns and Rural Areas
The state-specific downloads in the table below show county-level data on seniors’ Medicaid coverage for the time periods 2008/09 and 2014/15. Data on children is available here, data on non-elderly adults can be found here, and data on the total non-elderly population (children and non-elderly adults combined) can be found here. For more information on Medicaid coverage for seniors,…
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More Children In U.S. Illegally To Receive Health Care
Huffington Post By Michael Ollove Last year, California extended full Medicaid benefits to child immigrants, no matter their immigration status, if their families otherwise meet the income thresholds for the joint federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled. Dolores, now 17, is enrolled. …. “These benefits give parents great peace of mind and…
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State Won’t Break Even On Foxconn Deal Until At Least 2043
WORT FM By WORT FM News Department and Nina Kravinsky The legislative fiscal bureau says it will take at least 25 years for Wisconsin’s incentives package for the manufacturer to break even. … Director of the non-profit Wisconsin Budget Project Jon Peacock says the deal is quote “unprecedented.” Also in the bill — a tax…
