Medicaid
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S.C. Medicaid agency wants to add work requirements, child advocate calls proposal ‘cruel’
The Post and Courier By: Lauren Sausser As the South Carolina Medicaid agency moves forward with a proposal to impose work requirements on low-income adults, child advocates worry the plan will hurt parents and families. … Still, the idea troubles some child advocates. Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown…
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State Medicaid and CHIP Snapshots, 2018
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created factsheets underscoring the importance of Medicaid in providing coverage for children in all 51 states (including the District of Columbia). Sources are available here. Previous snapshots can be found here.
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Medicaid Expansion Brings Improvements in Coverage and Utilization to Rural CHC Patients
We previously blogged on research showing that the Medicaid expansion helps keep rural hospitals open and that the Medicaid expansion disproportionately benefited rural communities. We came to a similar conclusion in our own research when we analyzed Medicaid coverage in small towns and rural America. We found that the rate of uninsured adults in expansion…
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New Conservative ACA Repeal Plan Would Likely Make Millions Uninsured
On June 19, a coalition of conservative think tanks unveiled a very brief outline of their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Like similar 2017 repeal proposals from Senators Cassidy and Graham, the Health Care Choices Proposal would convert funding for the Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies into block grants for states. The…
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New Data Show Progress Covering Uninsured Children Stalled
I previously wrote about the growing gap between the rate of uninsured adults living in non-expansion states and expansion states. Next, I am analyzing the rate of uninsured children using the same data source, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). We are anxiously waiting for the release of the American Community Survey in the fall…
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Preliminary CBO Analysis Finds Medicaid Doing Far Better than Medicare in Addressing Rising Cost of Specialty Drugs
Last week, I wrote about how data from the recent Medicare Trustees report show the highly effective Medicaid drug rebate program continues to produce substantially larger rebates from drug manufacturers than private insurers in Medicare Part D do. Now, new preliminary data from an analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office similarly finds that Medicaid…
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MACPAC Report Recommends Sound Improvements to Medicaid Drug Rebate Program
On June 15, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) issued its June 2018 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP. The MACPAC report included recommendations for two sound, albeit modest, improvements to the highly effective Medicaid drug rebate program which could lower state and federal Medicaid prescription drug costs: Prevent manufacturers of…
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Medicaid and CHIP Snapshot Data Sources
Below is a description of sources used for data reported on the State Snapshots provided by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). All snapshots are available here. Children’s Health Insurance Coverage (2016) Georgetown CCF analysis of single-year estimates of summary data from the 2016 American Community Survey…
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Doctors, Patients and Many Others Voice Strong Objections to Florida’s Plan to End Retroactive Medicaid Coverage
Florida recently submitted a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver request to eliminate 90-day retroactive coverage for everyone in Florida’s Medicaid program, except children and pregnant women. As we wrote in our joint comments, this is a bad idea that will expose families to medical debt and providers to higher uncompensated care costs. There is absolutely no…
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Arkansas Medicaid work reporting to be online only
Southwest Times Record By: Benjamin Hardy The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning D.C.-based think tank, warned that exemption categories to Arkansas’ new Medicaid requirements would inevitably confuse beneficiaries. … Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, pointed out DHS has had serious IT problems in the past.…
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The Limits to Trump’s Medicaid Freedom for States
Governing By: Mattie Quinn Ever since being elected, President Donald Trump has vowed to give states more flexibility to enact their own health care policies. … Last month, CMS rejected a waiver from Kansas that would have set a three-year time limit for people to use Medicaid. “I was pleasantly surprised by that,” says Joan Alker,…
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Plan on Opioid Crisis is Missing a Proven Strategy that Could Double Number of Those Getting Treatment
A June 11 press release headlined: “CMS leverages Medicaid Program to combat the Opioid crisis,” touts the Trump Administration’s commitment to addressing the growing problem of opioid addiction. In the press release, Secretary Azar is quoted as saying: “Today’s announcement reflects the Trump Administration and HHS’s commitment to helping states use Medicaid to support treatment for…
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Medicaid Plays a Critical Role in Caring for Infants Exposed to Opioids or Other Drugs In Utero
The opioid crisis in American affects more than individuals suffering from the disease of addiction or substance use disorder. The crisis is hard on their families as demonstrated by the rise in the number of children suffering from neglect and abuse leading to their placement in foster care as a result of opioid and other…
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CMS Guidance on Opioid Response Offers Insights into Using Technology to Address Social Determinants of Health
Recognizing the importance of technology in health care, the federal government provides a 90% match for development of Medicaid eligibility and claims payment systems, as well as the advancement of Health Information Technology (HIT) that supports the exchange of health information and adoption of electronic health records (EHR). Of note, HIT enhanced funding expires in…
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What South Dakota’s Medicaid Waiver Application Doesn’t Tell You
South Dakota is in the process of applying for a Section 1115 waiver that will allow it to impose a work requirement on very poor parents in two counties, Minnehaha and Pennington, for five years, with the option to expand to other counties. The state Medicaid agency posted the application for public comment on May…
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Federal Investment in Children: Why Capping Medicaid Would Make a Bad Situation Worse
Not that you needed another reason that capping federal Medicaid payments to states would be an unmitigated disaster for children and families. But since the proposal is alive and well in some quarters—notably the President’ FY 2019 Budget—it’s worth marshaling as many as possible. Here’s another one, from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The…
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Incentivizing Healthy Behaviors in Medicaid is Hard To Do
A new report from researchers from Duke University sparked my interest as I have not delved into the recent research on this issue for some time. Some years ago, I looked closely at Florida’s efforts in this regard which were ineffective and administratively costly. Duke’s new comprehensive study concluded that “We do not have enough…
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“Pain & Profit:” How Not to Do Medicaid Managed Care
We know that CMS Administrator Seema Verma doesn’t think Medicaid should cover “able-bodied” adults. But she does believe that coverage of the “society’s most vulnerable citizens” is the right thing for Medicaid to do. In her major policy address to state Medicaid directors last November, she opened with the stories of Richard, a para-pelagic, and…
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New Medicare Trustees Report Continues to Show Greater Effectiveness of Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Compared to Medicare Part D
As I’ve previously written, the Medicaid drug rebate program is very effective. It requires drug manufacturers to provide sizable rebates that significantly lower federal and state Medicaid prescription drug costs while ensuring access to needed medications for tens of millions of low-income beneficiaries. Last week, the Medicare Trustees issued their latest annual report on the…
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On Medicaid, student debt, conservation and a Senate opening
Statehouse Report By: Lindsay Street Work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries could cause some of the state’s poorest parents to lose health coverage, according to a new analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. The state is seeking a waiver from the U.S. Department on Health…
