State roundup: Christie vows overhaul of pension, health benefits; Ill., Fla. move more into Medicaid managed care

The Wall Street Journal: New Jersey's Chris Christie Vows To Persevere On Pension Reform
Gov. Chris Christie said he would propose an overhaul to the state's pension and health benefits system later this summer, revisiting an issue that burnished his national political image in 2011 but challenged him this spring when he scaled back promised funding. As the governor signed a $32.5 billion budget on Monday, he vetoed tax increases designed to offset pension costs and called changing the pension and benefits system his main economic priority for 2014 (Dawsey and Haddon, 6/30).

Texas Tribune: The Widow Vs. The Insurer: A Wife's Fight For Her Families Future
After Crystal Davis' husband died, the state ruled his death a workplace fatality and awarded her family benefits under the workers' compensation system. But the insurance company is fighting the order in court. The lawyers have even sued her two young children to take away their half of the proceeds. ... Crystal felt like they were adding insult to her husband's fatal injury. ... In Texas, where disputes in the workers' compensation system tend to cut the way of the insurer, critics say she is not alone (Root, 7/1). 

Miami Herald: Medicaid Managed Care Arrives Tuesday In South Florida 
Beginning Tuesday, more than a half million South Floridians, mostly children and women, will begin receiving their government-subsidized healthcare through private insurers, part of an effort to move about 3.6 million Floridians on Medicaid to a managed care model that lawmakers believe will cut costs. Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties are the latest to transition their entire Medicaid populations to private insurers, though nearly 350,000 Medicaid recipients in the region -; and 1.1 million across the state -; have participated in experimental managed care programs since 2005 (Chang, 7/1). 

Associated Press: Illinois Pushes Ahead With Medicaid Managed Care 
Facing a Jan. 1 deadline, the state's top Medicaid official announced a timetable Monday for moving hundreds of thousands of low-income patients into managed care health plans. Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos said 1.7 million people will get packets in the mail by the end of the year outlining their health plan choices and giving an enrollment phone number. The change affects Medicaid patients in about 30 counties in central and southwestern Illinois and in regions including Rockford, Chicago and the Quad Cities. Those who don't choose a plan will be assigned to one. Patients can switch during the first 90 days (Johnson, 6/30).