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12K have lost Arkansas Medicaid coverage over work rule
The Associated Press By: Andrew DeMillo Arkansas removed more than 12,000 people from its expanded Medicaid program over the past three months for not complying with a new work requirement, the state said Thursday. Another 6,000 are at risk of losing coverage by December if they don’t find work. The state Department of Human Services…
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Arkansas Data are Clear – Trump’s Medicaid Policy is a Dangerous Failure
The primary focus of the Trump Administration’s approach to Medicaid has been to encourage states to impose work and “community engagement” requirements on adults in Medicaid through Section 1115 Medicaid waivers. As regular readers of SayAhhh! know, Arkansas is the first state in the nation to impose these new rules on its Medicaid expansion policy.…
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How to maintain your perspective as Trump plays the immigration card (again)
Arizona Republic By: Linda Valdez What’s not legitimate? The scare tactics Trump uses to justify treating hard-working men and women – and their children – like a big-time threat to our jobs, our homes, our language and our way of life. One of those tactics is a proposed rule change by the Department of Homeland…
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Medicaid Transformation in NC: Three Priorities to Watch
By Ciara Zachary Seventy percent of the people enrolled in Medicaid and NC Health Choice in North Carolina are children. So as the state’s Medicaid transformation process continues to meet major milestones, NC Child is closely monitoring this complex undertaking for its impacts on children. Here’s a brief update on where we are in the…
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The Fight for Grade-Level Reading podcast episode 3: Elisabeth Burak on Medicaid and CHIP
Sarasota Herald-Tribune By: Brian Ries We talk to Elisabeth Burak, Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families, where she directs projects focused on young children’s development. Burak has more than 15 years of experience in public policy to support low-income children and families at national and state…
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New Policy Brief asks: “Why are Tennessee moms and babies dying at such a high rate?”
Tennessee Justice Center’s recent policy brief focuses on rising rates of infant and maternal mortality in Tennessee. When I saw the state’s dismal outcomes in the 2018 America’s Health Rankings Health of Women and Children report, I immediately wanted to learn why moms and babies were dying at higher and higher rates in Tennessee. According…
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Five Ways the Midterms Changed Healthcare
Medscape Medical News By: Marcia Frellick Tuesday’s midterm elections resulted in changes in leadership and passage or denial of ballot initiatives that have implications for healthcare nationwide. Here are five of the major areas affected. 1. Medicaid. The red states of Nebraska, Idaho, and Utah approved Medicaid expansion. … Joan Alker, MPhil, research professor at…
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How Proposed Changes to Public Charge Would Impact Children in Immigrant Communities
Editor’s Note, 10/15/19: Several federal courts have issued nationwide injunctions blocking implementation of the proposed changes to the public charge rule. We will update any further developments. Introduction The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed regulation that would radically change U.S. immigration policy. The changes would ripple through nearly every aspect of the…
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How Medicaid’s networks could change
Axios Vitals Newsletter By: Sam Baker Health insurers that run state Medicaid programs must have adequate networks of doctors so people don’t have to travel far. But that may change under a new federal proposal, Axios’ Bob Herman reports. How it works: An Obama-era rule required states to come up with “time and distance” standards…
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Voters expand Medicaid in red states; gridlock in Congress likely to protect Obamacare
USA Today By: Ken Alltucker With Democrats capturing the House of Representatives and Republicans strengthening control of the Senate, experts predict gridlock will likely block major changes to the Affordable Care Act. But access to health care and spiraling medical costs remain top-of-mind issues for consumers and state lawmakers, even in traditionally conservative states. Voters…
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Steve Ferrara, Greg Stanton tout different health care paths in 9th Congressional District
Arizona Republic By: Rachel Leingang In Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, a Republican doctor is running against the Democratic former mayor of Phoenix in a race has been dominated by their disagreements over the future of health care. Steve Ferrara, a doctor who works at the Phoenix VA and the county hospital, wants to adjust the…
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The Ground Game for Medicaid Expansion: ‘Socialism’ or a Benefit for All?
The Pew Charitable Trusts By: Michael Ollove Bills to expand eligibility for Medicaid, the health plan for the poor run jointly by the federal and state governments, have been introduced in the Nebraska legislature for six straight years. All failed. Senate opponents said the state couldn’t afford it. The federal government couldn’t be counted on…
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Missouri’s rural residents need better health care options
St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Aaron Griffin and Jen Bersdale There are people all across Missouri who are struggling to access health care, but the situation is much worse for those living in rural communities and small towns. While about a quarter of Missourians living in metro areas like St. Louis and Kansas City are uninsured,…
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Medicaid at the Ballot Box: More Coverage or More Barriers? (Part 2)
I blogged earlier about which of the 17 non-expansion states might see a change in their status on the horizon post election. Today I take a look at states that already have expanded (yes, I count Maine as an expansion state despite Governor LePage’s best efforts to thwart the will of the people), where we…
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Actual State Budget Impacts in Five States that Expanded Medicaid
Michigan, Montana, Louisiana, Colorado and Virginia have all expanded Medicaid. In each of these states, local analysis has shown expanding Medicaid has either been a positive for the state’s general fund revenues or has not resulted in any additional cost to the state. The reason is a combination of substantial state savings from Medicaid now…
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Medicaid at the 2018 Ballot Box: What to Look For (Part 1)
Next Tuesday (as usual) I will be staying up late to see what happens in the midterm elections. But for the first time in more than twenty years of working on Medicaid there will be so much to watch out for that will directly affect Medicaid! Today I will start with the 17 states that…
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Medicaid At Center Of Iowa Governor’s Race
Iowa Public Radio By: Katarina Sostaric Ads are flooding screens and mailboxes in Iowa calling the state’s move to privately-managed Medicaid a failure and a health care crisis. … The program start was delayed by federal regulators. Then complaints started mounting from patients who were denied services, and care providers who were taking financial hits…
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Oklahoma’s Rural Hospitals See A Lifeline In Medicaid Expansion
KGOU By: Jackie Fortier As more GOP-led states with vast rural areas consider Medicaid expansion, supporters in Oklahoma are watching. They say it’s the best solution to make sure rural hospitals survive. … Oklahoma’s rural hospitals are in trouble: Four have closed in the past eight years, and the hospital association estimates that half of rural to…
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Children’s hospitals bear largest brunt of Trump immigration crackdown
Modern Healthcare By: Virgil Dickson The immigration clampdown [by the federal government] could cause American children of undocumented parents to exit Medicaid, policy insiders say. … Medicaid directors as well as managed care plans disclosed via reports last week that they were noticing the first drop in Medicaid enrollment in a decade. Researchers tied that…
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New Guidance Reinterprets Section 1332 Waivers
On October 22, the Trump Administration issued new guidance related to section 1332 state waivers of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The guidance eviscerates the existing statutory requirements for affordability, comprehensiveness and coverage that section 1332 waivers must satisfy to receive federal approval. As a result, as other analysts have pointed out (here…
