Florida officials ask Feds for more time on Medicaid pilot program

News organizations in Florida, Colorado and Louisiana report on developments in state Medicaid issues.

News Service Of Florida: AHCA Wants More Time On Medicaid Pilot
With a June 30 deadline looming, discussions about continuing Florida's Medicaid pilot program appear headed to overtime. The Agency for Health Care Administration sent a letter to the federal government Monday seeking a 30-day extension of the pilot, as state and federal officials try to reach agreement on continuing the program for three more years. ... The controversial pilot, which requires most Medicaid beneficiaries in five counties to enroll in managed-care plans, is scheduled to expire June 30 (Saunders, 6/21). 

Health Policy Solutions (a Colorado health news service): Unkindest Cut: Medicaid Won't Cover Circumcision In Colorado
Effective July 1, Colorado will join 17 other states in dropping coverage for routine circumcisions under Medicaid. The move was part of a series of budget cuts approved by lawmakers during the recent legislative session. The decision will save the state's general fund an estimated $186,500 annually, but it also will nudge Colorado closer toward a debate that has been growing in intensity across the country (Carman, 6/21). 

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Senate Passes Bill To Add Legislative Oversight On Medicaid Reform
A bill that would add new layers of legislative oversight to a Medicaid privatization plan was sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal's desk Tuesday after the Louisiana Senate gave its final approval. But the governor refused to say whether he will sign Senate Bill 207 by Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles, which requires the state Department of Health and Hospitals to provide detailed annual reports about the new "coordinated care networks" that are scheduled to launch early next year. The new program aims to shift more than 800,000 Medicaid recipients, mainly children, into private managed-care networks (Moller, 6/21). 

Meanwhile, a clinic in Texas serving Medicaid patients closes and Kansas officials examine what went wrong at an independent living center there.

Dallas Morning News: East Plano Clinic For Medicaid Patients To Close
Texas Health Community Medical Center Plano, a clinic for low-income patients, is closing Aug. 1, its operator said Tuesday. Started by Texas Health Dallas in 1996, the clinic has accumulated steep operating losses in recent years, hospital system spokesman Wendell Watson said (Kim, 6/22).

Kansas Health Institute News: Concerns Follow Independent Living Center's Closing
State officials said they doubt they'll be able to recoup much of the money that turned up missing during an audit of a now-defunct independent living program in southwest Kansas. ... In February, SRS auditors cited CILSWK for misspending more than $340,000 and for having billed Medicaid for more than $790,000 for services that could not be documented. Between 200 and 300 people with disabilities were affected by the closing of the local centers, which specialized in pairing disabled persons with in-home caregivers (Ranney, 6/21).