GAO finds states need more HHS guidance on new Medicaid rules

The study of six states finds they want more help as they look to expand their programs under new rules in the health law.

Medpage Today: GAO: States Need Help With New Medicaid Rules
States want and need more guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in order to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a government study finds. The timing of these guidelines could affect states' ability to meet ACA implementation deadlines, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released this week. … [T]he GAO selected six states to examine -- Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Virginia -- all of which are taking steps to expand their Medicaid programs under the ACA (Pittman, 8/3).

In the meantime, a plan to move poor children to California's Medi-Cal dental managed care program is derailed in part by poor performance in a similar program in Sacramento --

CHCF Center for Health Reporting/Sacramento Bee: State Heeds County Woes
Cash-strapped California is aggressively moving its poorest residents to managed health care, whether they're seniors, rural residents or people with disabilities. So, when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed earlier this year to transfer the nearly 900,000 poor children in the Healthy Families insurance program into Medi-Cal, he saw it as another opportunity to reduce costs by expanding dental managed care. But something happened between then and now, and that something was Sacramento County. Sacramento County's poorly performing Medi-Cal dental managed care program foiled Brown's plans, legislators say (Bazar, 8/5).

Finally, other outlets look at efforts to move Medicaid enrollees to managed care plans and Maine's request to alter its program --

CQ HealthBeat: Questions Remain About States' Ability To Oversee Managed Long-Term Care
State Medicaid programs are increasingly turning to managed care to deliver long-term services, but some officials worry that some states do not have the resources to adequately oversee these health plans, said experts at an Alliance for Health Reform briefing on Friday. An increasing number of states want to expand managed care, which is often used for relatively healthy populations in Medicaid and in employer-sponsored coverage, but until recently had not been widely considered for elderly people and those with disabilities who need long term care (Adams, 8/3).

The Associated Press: Federal Officials Ponder Maine's Medicaid Request
The federal Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it had received a formal request filed ... (by Maine), which contends the cuts, amounting to $20 million in savings, are needed to balance the state budget. The planned cuts, due to take effect Oct. 1, cover three areas. They would eliminate Medicaid coverage for 19- and 20-year-olds, cut back access to Medicaid for elderly people already eligible for Medicare and increase eligibility requirements for non-disabled, non-pregnant adults on Medicaid (Adams, 8/3).