Medicaid cuts raise physician ire in Puerto Rico

The Associated Press: Doctors Threaten Medicaid Cutoff In Puerto Rico
Physicians are threatening to stop serving nearly a million Puerto Ricans as a result of a dispute between the island's government and an insurance company over reimbursements for treating poor people. Gov. Luis Fortuno on Wednesday appealed to the doctors to avoid cutting off patients, saying it would be illegal. In an interview with WAPA, a local TV station, he also said the government would withhold two months of payments to the insurance company unless it settled with doctors, hospitals, laboratories and others (Coto, 7/13).

Stateline: Alabama Cuts Medicaid Drug Costs By Examining Pharmacy Receipts
Traditionally, states have taken drug makers at their word about how much prescription medications cost. Alabama has found it pays to double-check. Soon, more states will be using the Alabama method (Vestal, 7/14).

Dallas Morning News: Medicaid Cuts To Fix Federal Deficit May Hurt Parkland
North Texas hospitals that rely on federal health spending could face deep revenue cuts as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Under one proposal, about $350 billion in savings would be carved from Medicare and Medicaid (Roberson, 7/13).