Feds approve parts of Arizona's plan to reduce state's Medicaid burden

In Florida, a class-action lawsuit alleges that state officials did not adequately market the Medicaid program.

Arizona Republic: Arizona Medicaid Cuts: Key Portions of Plan Rejected By U.S. Officials
Thousands of low-income Arizonans will keep government-funded medical coverage but face new co-payments and fees under a decision that federal officials announced Friday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services OK'd some of Arizona's proposals to reduce the state's financial burden. But federal health officials rejected other key pieces: The state will not be allowed to impose a smoking fee or cap enrollment for low-income parents, a move that would have left an estimated 30,000 people uninsured in the first year (Reinhart, 10/8).

The Associated Press: Fla. Waited 10 Years To Send Medicaid Letters
Florida health officials did not adequately market its Medicaid program and remind parents of the importance of keeping children's doctor's appointments because it worried an influx of appointments would strap a system already low on doctors, attorneys said this week during testimony in a class-action lawsuit. In 2001, federal health officials asked Florida to send letters to the parents of children on Medicaid who had not had a dental appointment for several months. Ten years later - in July and September 2011 - the state complied and sent letters, according to documents shown in Miami federal court (Kennedy, 10/7).

Denver Post: Colorado's Eligibility Crackdown On Old Age Pension Cuts Costs
For years, Colorado was known as a place with a unique legal loophole that allowed people to import their elderly immigrant relatives -; family members they'd already promised to provide for -; and immediately make taxpayers support them. Now, a year after restrictions were added to the state's Old Age Pension program, the costs of the program have plunged, saving millions of dollars...The Old Age Pension program provides more than 23,000 low-income Colorado residents who are at least 60 years old with cash benefits of up to $699 per month and, in some cases, medical benefits. Most who qualify for the pension also automatically qualify for Medicaid benefits (Hoover, 10/9).