Improving Systems

Saving Money, Saving Lives: Maryland Paves the Way on Payment Reform

As policymakers across the country look to balance their budgets, some are turning to Medicaid, recycling the same harmful policies they’ve used year-after-year: eliminating coverage for vulnerable Americans, restricting critical benefits like prescription drug coverage, imposing premiums on those who can’t afford them, and slashing already-low provider reimbursement rates. Community Catalyst and Georgetown University Health […]

Guest

June 29, 2011

CMS Asks Florida ‘Where’s the Beef’? (Do States Need a Waiver to do Managed Care?)

Last week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a letter to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration in response to the state’s request for waiver authority to expand managed care statewide. CMS responded by saying that their Medicaid waiver extension request cannot be granted because it lacks a specific plan. The state’s […]

Joan Alker

May 6, 2011

As Legislators Wrestle to Define Next Generation of Florida Medicaid, Benefits of Reform Effort Are Far From Clear

Medicaid is a critical part of Florida’s health care system. It covers about 27% of the state’s children, pays for 51% of all deliveries and nearly 66% of nursing home days. In 2006, a five-year pilot program replaced traditional Medicaid with an unusual managed-care model and other features that required a Section 1115 waiver from […]

Joan Alker

April 5, 2011

Florida’s Proposed Medicaid Long-Term Care Changes Raise Host of Questions About Impact

Florida’s 2011 Managed Care Legislation, HB 7107, established “Medicaid Managed Care,” a new statewide managed care program for all covered services. Two separate components are anticipated for the new program: the Florida Long-Term Care Managed Care program, slated for implementation first, and the Florida Managed Medical Assistance program, an expansion of the Medicaid pilot program […]

Joan Alker

January 18, 2011

Medicaid Managed Care – States Should Look Before They Leap (Again!)

By Joel Ferber, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and nationally recognized expert on Medicaid A recent article in USA Today focused on Medicaid managed care and its implications for health reform. Health insurance companies are clamoring for the substantial new business that will become available when Medicaid coverage is expanded to an estimated 16 million […]

Guest

November 17, 2010

A Strong and Affordable Exchange Should be Children’s Priority

(Editor’s Note: John Bouman is the President of the Shriver Center. He is recognized for being one of the most effective and thoughtful public-benefit advocates in the country. Say Ahhh! asked him for his thoughts on national health reform.) We all worry about our children so of course we are concerned about the treatment of […]

Guest

January 15, 2010