Medicaid
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Obamacare Faces Unprecedented Test as Economy Sinks
New York Times By: Abby Goodnough and Reed Abelson The Affordable Care Act, the landmark health law that has been a subject of caustic debate for more than a decade, is being tested as never before, as millions of Americans lose their jobs and medical coverage in the midst of the nation’s gravest health crisis in a…
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More Floridians turn to Medicaid amid pandemic
Ocala The number of Floridians relying on the state’s health care safety-net program continues to push higher amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Newly released figures show that enrollment in Florida’s Medicaid program grew by nearly 7.7% between February and May, but at least one analysis puts the growth rate even higher…. “When…
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CMS Proposes Medicaid Drug Rebate Changes to Facilitate Commercial Adoption of Value-Based Purchasing Arrangements
On June 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to change how drug manufacturers would report prices for purposes of the “best price” requirement under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP), among other modifications to the rebate program and to Medicaid coverage of outpatient prescription drugs. The intent…
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Medicaid Enrollment Appears to be Accelerating
[Editor’s Note: For updated enrollment numbers, see “Medicaid Enrollment Increases Show Surprisingly Wide Variability Among States“.] We’ve been keeping a sharp eye on available state data on Medicaid enrollment as the number of Americans filing unemployment claims continues to rise at a historic pace. Medicaid enrollment is closely tied to the economic circumstances of the…
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Medicaid Rolls Surge, Adding to Budget Woes
Pew Trusts By: Michael Ollove Many of the tens of millions of Americans who have lost their health insurance along with their jobs are enrolling in Medicaid — and with state budgets decimated by the pandemic, state officials worry they won’t have the money to pay for their health care…. Georgetown University’s Center for Children…
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State Officials Weighing Emergency Medicaid Services for Undocumented Immigrants
WVTF By: Michael Pope Undocumented immigrants are being hit hard by the COVID-19 health crisis, and access to health care is a major stumbling block for many. But, Virginia could take action to increase availability of testing and treatment. A handful of states have made emergency Medicaid services available for undocumented immigrants to receive testing…
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MACPAC looks to improve care integration for dual-eligibles
Modern Healthcare By: Michael Brady Key policy changes could significantly improve the integration of care for people that are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission said Monday in its annual report to Congress. MACPAC said CMS should loosen enrollment restrictions for so-called “dual-eligibles” by creating an exception…
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Oklahoma’s Medicaid Expansion Debate Rollercoaster
On June 30, Oklahoma voters will have a chance to require their state to expand affordable health coverage through expanding Medicaid. This would follow the lead of 37 other states (including DC) that have already expanded the program to cover more working adults since 2014. No state has gone back on its expansion decision and…
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Medicaid Work Requirements in the Time of Unemployment
Between March 1 and June 6, a total of 44.5 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment insurance. These massive job losses will result in a dramatic increase in the number of Americans without health insurance coverage, threatening the ability of unemployed Americans to afford needed care for themselves and their families during the COVID-19…
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Rural Disparities, Racial Disparities, and Maternal Health Crisis Call Out for Solutions
Maternal health access and care were already in crisis before COVID-19, and the pandemic has further laid bare the racial and geographic disparities experienced by pregnant women and new mothers across the country. Last month we submitted comments in response to CMS’s request for information on improving access and quality of maternal health in rural…
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HHS’ new $35 billion in grants target Medicaid, safety net, hot spot providers
Modern Healthcare By: Rachel Cohrs HHS on Tuesday announced new grant distributions to Medicaid providers, safety net hospitals, and hospitals in COVID-19 hot spots. The agency in recent days faced pressure from a bipartisan group of lawmakers to send more of Congress’ $175 billion provider relief fund to Medicaid-dependent providers. HHS said that $15 billion…
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Opportunities for Supporting Children and Families through Pediatric Primary Care in the Time of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing serious health and economic consequences on families, children, and communities and is threatening the viability of the health care delivery system. While we can’t know the lasting consequences of the unprecedented stress confronting families, it is likely to have detrimental, lasting effects on the social and emotional health of our…
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Confronting Maternal Mortality Crisis: New Resources Track State Progress on Extending Medicaid Postpartum Coverage
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the maternal mortality crisis was among the highest policy changes on the priority list for state lawmakers and health officials. COVID-19 has further exposed the fault lines that create health disparities between racial, ethnic, income, and other groups. As the virus has spread, it is communities of color, low-income communities…
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Racial Health Inequities and Medicaid Work Requirements
Research by the Center for Children and Family demonstrates that Medicaid work reporting requirements proposed for low-income parents would disproportionately affect African American mothers and families. In three of the five states we reviewed, African American adults represent the largest proportion of the population subject to work reporting requirements. In all five states, the share…
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We Need to Name it: Racism is a Public Health Crisis
Our country boils over in tension about the inaction of our leaders to address (among other things) the clear police brutality and racism that has led to the murder of Black Americans, most recently George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. We were already witnessing the COVID-19 pandemic further expose the fault lines within our health system…
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‘Why Do We Always Get Hit First?’ Proposed Budget Cuts Target Vulnerable Californians
LAist By: Samantha Young Shirley Madden, 83, relies on a caregiver and her two grown daughters to remain living at home — and not in a nursing home. Her daughters, 55-year-old Carrie and 60-year-old Kristy Madden, both use wheelchairs and need a second caregiver to help them navigate their own daily lives… States that drop…
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Maternal health improved by Medicaid coverage, study says
Modern Healthcare By: Steven Johnson Expanded access to Medicaid was associated with 1.6 fewer maternal deaths per 100,000 women compared with states that didn’t expand the program, according to a new study. The infant death rate also fell more dramatically in Medicaid expansion states—by more than 50% from 2010 to 2016. Those findings were in…
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Latest Coverage Proposals In Congress
Health Affairs By: Katie Keith Congressional Democrats have released several recent proposals related to health insurance coverage and the COVID-19 crisis… The Heroes Act would further raise the temporary FMAP increase to 14 percentage points from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. If the emergency extends beyond June 30, 2021, the FMAP adjustment would…
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COVID-19 and Child Welfare
We’ve written a lot in the past few months about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Medicaid and CHIP. We’ve also written about the devastating impact of the pandemic on the economy and state budgets. Unfortunately, the devastation doesn’t stop there. Today, we invited two of our partners at the Children’s Defense Fund, Stefanie…
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Behavioral Health Services in Separate State CHIP Programs: Is Your State in Compliance?
Access to behavioral health services has long lagged behind physical health, despite a clear and growing need. The need has no doubt been exacerbated by the stress of the new coronavirus. Finding and ensuring health coverage for pregnant women and children’s mental health services – ones that are appropriate for their developmental stage — can…
