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Research Update: NBER Studies Look at Medicaid Expansion and Mortality and Impact of Cost-Sharing On Prescription Drug Use
Two recent working papers from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) demonstrate how health policy decisions can affect mortality. The first examines how the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion reduces mortality and the second examines the mortality effects of cost-sharing for prescription drugs. Medicaid and Mortality: New Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data,…
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Medicaid Managed Care: 2020 Results for the “Big Five”
[View this blog for an update on Medicaid Managed Care earnings.] Corporate earnings statements for 2020 are now out. It was a very good year for the five largest health care companies in the Medicaid managed care market: Aetna/CVS Health; Anthem; Centene; Molina; and UnitedHealthcare. Each company experienced an increase in Medicaid enrollment between December…
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Workplace Wellness Programs Have Overlooked Health Equity
By Julie Zuckerbrod* In 2017, many food service and maintenance staff at Yale University received a notice about a mandatory health screening and “coaching” program. These employees and their spouses were automatically enrolled in the Yale Health Expectations Program (HEP), which required them to complete a series of health services like physical exams, blood tests, and…
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New CBO Study Compares Net Prices for Brand-Name Drugs Among Federal Programs, Finds Medicaid Gets Largest Discounts
In a new groundbreaking study, the Congressional Budget Office compared brand-name drug prices, net of rebates and discounts, across select federal programs and agencies including Medicaid, Medicare Part D and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It found that Medicaid gets the lowest net prices, far below that of Medicare Part D plans and well…
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Unpacking the Postpartum Coverage Extension Option in the COVID-19 Relief Bill
Earlier this month, the House Energy and Commerce committee released a COVID-19 relief package that included a slate of Medicaid improvements, including significant incentives for the holdout states to expand Medicaid coverage to all low income adults. The bill also includes a Medicaid state plan amendment option to offer pregnancy-related Medicaid and CHIP coverage for…
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CBO Estimates Confirm Lifting Medicaid Drug Rebate Cap Results in Significant Federal and State Savings
On Monday, February 22, the House Budget Committee plans to mark up the House COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill, with the full House possibly voting on the bill later in the week. As I have previously explained, one sound Medicaid provision — section 3107 of the bill —would, as of January 1, 2023, eliminate the current…
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Medicaid Expansion’s Effects on Families: More coverage, improved maternal health, better preventive care
We’ve been tracking the rates of uninsured children for more than a decade now, and after reaching an all-time low in 2016 nationwide, the number started going in the wrong direction over the past three years. From 2016 to 2019 approximately 726,000 more children became uninsured. The report we released today looks more closely at…
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Once Upon a Time in North Carolina: CHIP Health Services Initiative Funds Early Literacy Promotion as Part of Well-Child Care
by Emma Sandoe, Anna Miller-Fitzwater, Donna Cohen Ross Once Upon a Time So many well-loved stories of early childhood begin with the words “once upon a time” and go on to tell fairy tales of fantastic adventure. Here in North Carolina, we are excited to share our own early childhood story—one that is certainly adventurous and promises…
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Report Finds Medicaid Expansion Associated with Lower Child Uninsured Rates
Introduction Since its passage in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has played a critical role in lowering the rate of uninsured children in America. A key part of the ACA’s success in this area was the Act’s expansion of Medicaid to more working-age adults. In 2016, just two years after the majority of states…
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Biden Administration Withdraws Medicaid Work Requirements Guidance and More
President Biden was quoted last week as saying that he was not watching the impeachment trial because he had work to do. On Friday afternoon, February 12th, it was clear that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), now under new management, was doing a great deal of work to rollback a signature policy…
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Mississippi Joins the Finish Line Network
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) is excited to formally welcome the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) to the Finish Line network. The Finish Line project is a nationwide initiative of the David & Lucile Packard Foundation to support state-based policy and advocacy organizations that are leading efforts to make advances in…
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Executive Director Joan Alker sits down with Georgetown University Provost Bob Groves
Executive Director Joan Alker recently sat down with Georgetown University Provost Bob Groves to discuss the history of the Center for Children and Families, and how our work has grown and adapted to expand and improve access to high-quality health care for our nation’s children and families. Listen now to hear more about our mission,…
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Child Medicaid Enrollment Grew by 10% during the Pandemic in 2020
The chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, recently explained that the official unemployment statistics are too low, and that unemployment was closer to 10% in January. With the pandemic still raging and economic conditions looking very troubling, Congress is considering a COVID relief package with some important Medicaid provisions – my colleague Edwin Park…
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House Energy and Commerce Committee Reconciliation Legislation Would Spur Medicaid Expansion and Promote Maternal Health
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has unveiled its portion of the House COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill, with a markup of the Committee’s recommendations scheduled for Thursday, February 11, 2021. Several of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s reconciliation provisions strengthen Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including provisions to encourage states to finally…
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House Energy and Commerce Committee Reconciliation Legislation Includes Sound Medicaid Drug Rebate Provision
Last night, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled its recommendations for the House COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill, with a markup scheduled for February 11, 2021. One sound Medicaid provision would, as of January 1, 2023, eliminate the current cap on total drug rebates that manufacturers must pay state Medicaid programs, which would produce significant…
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President Biden’s Executive Order on Public Charge
On February 2, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) on various aspects of the U.S. immigration system, including public charge policies. Readers of SayAhhh! know that the Trump Administration changed longstanding public charge policies to make it harder for lawfully residing immigrants to obtain green cards by imposing a new wealth test. Though…
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Medicaid Learning Lab
Medicaid, the foundation of affordable, comprehensive health coverage for low-income children and families, is a complex federal-state partnership program. It is essential for everyone working on improving affordable health coverage or advocating for low-income families to develop a solid base of knowledge and understanding about how this critical federal-state program works. The Georgetown University Center for…
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Trump’s Farewell Gift to Florida’s Medicaid Program
A few days before departing, former CMS Administrator and Trump appointee Seema Verma handed out ten-year Medicaid demonstration waiver extensions for political allies, with Texas and Florida,[1] approvals being granted late Friday, January 15th. The Friday before (Jan. 8th) CMS had approved the infamous and dangerous Tennessee waiver, which my colleagues explained beautifully here. Ten…
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Assessing the Trump Administration’s Final Medicaid Drug Rebate Rule Changing Best Price Reporting under Value-Based Purchasing Arrangements
On December 31, 2020, the Trump Administration finalized a rule that among other provisions, newly allowed drug manufacturers to report a range of prices offered through value-based purchasing arrangements (VBP) under the “best price” requirement under the highly effective Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP). This final rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…
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Improving Medicaid Managed Care for Children: What a Dashboard Could Do
This is the season of Medicaid policy options—especially those competing for the attention of a new Administration and a new Congress. But the federal government is not the only audience; this week a terrific report was issued to policymakers in California. Written by Jocelyn Guyer (a former CCFer), Alice Lam, and Madeleine Toups at Manatt…
