Medicaid highlights: Calif. readies expansion to foster youths

State Medicaid news includes discussions around the expansion of Medicaid in California both for the general public who need assistance and for youth in foster care. Additionally, Oregon is close to finalizing its waiver request with the federal government to move forward with its own reforms in the program.

HealthyCal:  Foster The Children
However, many younger foster youth may have brighter prospects. The health care reform law also requires states to provide Medicaid to foster youth up until the age of 26. The provision does not take effect until 2014; only applies to youth in the system at that time; and, like the entire health reform law, is in the hands of the United States Supreme Court, which plans to rule on the legality of the ACA next week.  In addition to utilizing Medi-Cal up to the age of 21, foster youth may enter the newly-established Extended Foster Care program. The EFC program began in January and is applicable to foster youth turning 18 in 2012 and provides them with additional support as they enter adulthood (Fulton, 6/22).

The Lund Report:  Oregon's Waiver To CMS Nears Completion
The Oregon Health Authority is nearing the end of countless hours of negotiations with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to finalize a waiver that will allow the state to legally move forward with reforming the Oregon Health Plan. The authority plans to submit the waiver on July 1, which will allow the state to be exempt from certain regulations and rules in federal Medicaid law (Waldroupe, 6/19). 

CHCF Center For Health Reporting/San Jose Mercury: California Gets A Jump On Health Coverage Expansion
As the Supreme Court nears a decision on health reform, more than 360,000 Californians already are receiving medical coverage under a state-administered precursor to the landmark legislation. But they could find their coverage fleeting if the so-called Affordable Care Act has no future. The effort, dubbed "The Bridge to Reform," is part of a sweeping Medicaid expansion unfolding in California. It exists to usher patients to health reform's planned implementation in 2014 (Gonzales, 6/21).