Arkansas Medicaid Waiver Agreement Approved

So interesting things always happen on Fridays, I have noticed. This Friday, the week before open enrollment begins, was already pretty hopping when word came that federal CMS had approved Arkansas’ Section 1115 Medicaid waiver request to provide coverage to an estimated 200,000 adults through qualified health plans offered in the Arkansas Health Connector, the state’s health insurance […]

Medicaid Expansion Round 2: From Simplicity to Complexity

As a practical matter, I think accepting 100% federal funding to extend Medicaid coverage to adults and getting that coverage up and running is easier than setting up a state-based marketplace, implementing the new insurance reforms and tax credits etc etc. States obviously already have Medicaid programs up and running – in many cases with […]

Insure Oklahoma Extension Paves Way for Longer Term Solution

By David Blatt, Oklahoma Policy Institute Last Friday, Oklahoma received formal word that the federal government has agreed to extend Insure Oklahoma, the state’s publicly-funded premium assistance health insurance program, until the end of 2014, subject to certain program changes. This one-year extension means that individuals and businesses that participate in the program will not […]

Wisconsin Provides A Reality Check about What Low-Income Families Can Afford to Pay for Medicaid

States that have not yet decided to expand Medicaid to low income adults and parents are considering their options, and some are hoping to experiment with charging monthly premiums.  New data from Wisconsin provides a helpful reality check.  Slightly more than two-fifths of the lowest income adults paying premiums—who did not exit BadgerCare or Transitional […]