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Waivers

  • Many Working Parents and Families in Florida Would Benefit from Closing the Coverage Gap

    Joan Alker

    The U.S. has made significant progress in decreasing rates of uninsurance for parents and adults. However, many low-income families in Florida still struggle to obtain health coverage. In 2013 (prior to the Affordable Care Act’s major coverage provisions), there were over 3.9 million people living without health insurance coverage in Florida, accounting for 8.5 percent (1…

  • Fact-checking the Florida Medicaid Debate

    Joan Alker

    There continues to be confusion and misinformation abounding in Florida on the issue of federal Medicaid funding. This year the state is giving up approximately $5 billion in federal funds that are available under the Affordable Care Act to extend Medicaid coverage to uninsured Floridians at no cost to the state. The only reason that…

  • Florida Consumer Reporter Takes on Complicated Task of Explaining the Coverage Gap

    Cathy Hope

    Say Ahhh! is excited to welcome Florida Legal Services to the health policy blogosphere.  The new blog will focus on issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion, and Medicaid Managed Care in Florida.  Contributors include staff members working on health law throughout the state of Florida.  Please check out this fantastic new resource for those…

  • Florida Senate Comes Out Swinging to Close the Coverage Gap

    Joan Alker

    Last week the Florida legislature began its regular session – scheduled to end in the first week in May. As regular readers of Say Ahhh!! know, I have been expecting a more robust debate there this year due to the expiration of the Low Income Pool funding that Florida receives through its Section 1115 waiver…

  • Employed and Uninsured: Many Uninsured Working Adults Would Benefit from Medicaid Expansion

    CCFadmin

    As states considering Medicaid expansion explore their options in program design, work requirements have surfaced as part of the debate. While work requirements perhaps serve as a strong talking point in reluctant states, a recent report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured finds that the majority of those who stand to benefit…

  • Early Returns From Iowa’s Health and Wellness Plan: Are Healthy Behavior Programs Working?

    Joan Alker

    Being healthier is a good thing, so it’s appealing for policymakers to insert the issue into their Medicaid expansion debates but so far healthy behavior programs set up by states for their Medicaid beneficiaries are producing more talking points and red-tape than results. It’s still early  though, so we will keep watching, but count me…

  • Medicaid Expansion in Utah: Good for Working Parents & Kids

    Alisa Chester

    In Utah, where one in ten children lack health insurance coverage, extending Medicaid coverage for parents is an effective strategy to boost children’s enrollment rates. Governor Gary Herbert’s proposed Healthy Utah Plan would expand Medicaid eligibility and insure tens of thousands of low-income adults. Uninsured parents account for over one-third of the population potentially eligible…

  • Arkansas Approves Private Option Improving Security for Families, Hospitals & State Budget

    Guest

    By Marquita Little, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Arkansas’s unique approach to Medicaid expansion, known as the Private Option, has been a success during its short lifespan. However, some state policy makers want to see the program end. Within just a couple weeks of being sworn in as the new Governor, Asa Hutchinson spoke…

  • Lessons in the Defeat of Tennessee Governor Haslam’s Medicaid Expansion Plan

    Adam Searing

    In a disappointing committee vote yesterday Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s carefully crafted state-specific plan for using federal Medicaid expansion dollars was rejected. A state budget cost-neutral financing mechanism through hospital fees and multiple other provisions that would have made the plan a significant showcase of conservative health policy ideas were not enough to obtain legislative…

  • Anticipated Cuts to Uncompensated Care Funds Increase Pressure on Florida to Expand Medicaid

    Joan Alker

    Today I had the pleasure of joining the League of Women Voters of Florida and Florida Legal Services on a conference call to discuss a topic of utmost importance – the decision facing Florida’s policy makers as to whether or not to expand Medicaid – especially in light of the scheduled expiration of Florida’s Low…

  • Indiana Becomes the 29th State (Including DC) to Expand Medicaid

    Joan Alker

    [Editor’s Note:  The terms and conditions and letter issued by federal CMS are available through these links: agreement, special terms and conditions and letter.] Today Governor Mike Pence received approval from federal CMS for a Section 1115 waiver to implement his Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP2.0) and extend coverage to as many as 350,000 Hoosiers –…

  • Indiana Agreement Wins the Award for Bureaucratic Complexity and Red Tape

    Joan Alker

    I am still waiting for paper but here is what I know about Indiana so far. The good news is that Indiana becomes the 29th state (including D.C.) to extend Medicaid coverage. The less than good news is that this is an enormously complicated program which will likely prevent some low-income adults from getting the…

  • Governor Haslam Announces Details of His Tennessee Medicaid Expansion Waiver

    Joan Alker

    Yesterday, Governor Haslam put some meat on the bones of the “Insure Tennessee” plan when he released more details about his version of Medicaid expansion. The Governor also called for a special session of the legislature to consider his plan to commence on Feb. 2nd. One highly publicized feature of the Tennessee plan is that…

  • Tennessee Proposal Highlights Importance of Medicaid Expansion for Residents and Providers

    CCFadmin

    By Sean Miskell This week, Governor Haslam announced his plan to expand Medicaid via a two-year pilot program called Insure Tennessee. Like other formerly recalcitrant states that are now embracing expansion, Tennessee is pursuing a state-specific approach that differs from ‘traditional’ Medicaid expansion. One element of this plan – in which the Tennessee Hospital Association…

  • Reports this Week: Multiple States Mulling Medicaid Expansion

    Adam Searing

    There has been some interesting movement this past week around the Medicaid expansion issue, especially in Tennessee.  One emerging theme continues – development of state-created alternative plans to use the Medicaid dollars while still extending health coverage to newly eligible low-income adults.  Here are some of the more interesting stories: Obviously Tennessee leads here with…

  • Communicating the Connection between Parent’s and Children’s Health in States Expanding Medicaid

    Guest

    By Liane Wong, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation It should be common sense to say that policies and programs which improve the health and well-being of parents will also help their children, right? I recently joined the Aspen Institute’s ThinkXChange to discuss priorities and emerging opportunities across the country to develop two generation approaches—where…

  • Why Does Florida Still Have one of Highest Uninsured Rates for Kids? What Can be Done to Help?

    Joan Alker

    Earlier this week I released a brief and held a webinar with the Florida Philanthropic Network on Florida’s uninsured children. The brief provides an overview of the demographics of Florida’s kids and outlines some policy decisions that will impact Florida’s high uninsured rate in the future. It will come as no surprise to regular Say Ahhh!…

  • Wyoming Medicaid Waiver Could Pass Muster with CMS

    Joan Alker

    Just as everyone was preparing Thanksgiving dinner, the state of Wyoming released its version of Medicaid expansion – called the Strategy for Health, Access, Responsibility, and Employment (SHARE) program. As is in vogue with this round of Medicaid expansion proposals, this one will require a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver, but unlike some recent submissions, Wyoming’s…

  • Medicaid Expansion: Post Election Discussion in Some States Maturing from Political to Practical

    Adam Searing

    Last week the New York Times editorialized on “The Fate of Medicaid Expansion” arguing that such efforts had “suffered a blow in the midterm elections” and that the odds for expansion “have grown longer.” The Times was echoing a general strain of conventional wisdom since the midterms following the reelection of governors who are expansion…

  • What Do Elections Mean for Medicaid Prospects?

    Joan Alker

    No one would say it was a good night for the prospects of Medicaid expansion. But I would argue the landscape didn’t really change all that much. One clear loss for the issue was Governor LePage’s victory in Maine –a state where he has repeatedly vetoed the expansion. And Arkansas results – especially in the…