Medicaid News and Research

RSS

Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

ACA good for the fiscal health of hospitals, study says

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA, was signed into law in 2010 with the purpose of providing all U.S. citizens with access to health care insurance coverage at an affordable cost.

24 Sep 2019

As off-label use spreads, supplies of niche drugs and patients’ patience grow short

Medical treatment has knocked down tumors in 6-year-old Easton Daniels' brain, but the drug used also wiped out his immune system.

24 Sep 2019

Undocumented immigrants have comparable transplant survival rates to U.S. citizens

Unauthorized immigrants who receive liver transplants in the United States have comparable three-year survival rates to U.S. citizens, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco.

20 Sep 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Tennessee seeks Medicaid changes

Tennessee announced this week that it hopes to become the first state to take the Trump administration up on its offer to transform funding for its Medicaid program into a block grant.

19 Sep 2019

New study assesses the prevalence of screening for social needs

A new study from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, published this week in JAMA Network Open, finds that most U.S. physician practices and hospitals report screening patients for at least one social need, a trend that is expected to increase in the future, and that practices that care for disadvantaged patients report higher screening rates.

18 Sep 2019

Alarming number of life-threatening heart infections related to drug abuse

As the nationwide opioid epidemic continues, more young people are developing a life-threatening heart infection that can result from drug abuse.

18 Sep 2019

Voices: How should California address the needs of its aging population?

Demographers, gerontologists and government officials are counting down to 2030.

18 Sep 2019

New study identifies focus points to prevent opioid overdose deaths

A new study identifies specific locations where medication and harm reduction services for people with opioid use disorder should be available in order to have the greatest impact on reducing opioid overdose deaths.

16 Sep 2019

Do 50 million people really lose health coverage each year because of their jobs?

The moderators kicked off the third Democratic debate with the topic of health care, teeing up another round of the ongoing “Medicare for All” debate.

13 Sep 2019

Long acting reversible contraceptives placed on same day could cut costs

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine have studied the utility of making available a long acting reversible contraceptive for teenagers on the same day. They write that this small measure of making these contraceptives available on the same day could save the insurance providers a significant amount of money.

12 Sep 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Despite booming economy, uninsured rate ticks up

The annual report from the Census Bureau, released this week, found that 27.5 million Americans were without health insurance last year, an increase of nearly 2 million from 2017.

12 Sep 2019

Trump administration's 'public charge' rule jeopardizes health care

The Trump administration's "public charge" rule, which would subject legal immigrants to a public charge determination if they use public health, nutrition and housing benefits for which they are eligible, represents a major threat to health, according to a "friend of the court" brief filed Sept. 10.

12 Sep 2019

Reducing opioid overdose risk in incarcerated women after prison release

More than 75 percent of incarcerated women in Oregon's state prison system require treatment for a substance use disorder.

11 Sep 2019

Number of Americans without insurance rises in 2018

For the first time in a decade, the number of Americans without health insurance has risen — by about 2 million people in 2018 — according to the annual U.S. Census Bureau report released Tuesday.

10 Sep 2019

Millions of diabetes patients are missing out on Medicare’s nutrition help

Louis Rocco has lived with diabetes for decades but, until he met with a registered dietitian in August, he didn't know eating too much bread was dangerous for him.

9 Sep 2019

Study shows large differences in ED and hospital destinations of minority patients

A new national study done by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center showed large differences in the emergency department and hospital destinations of minority (Black and Hispanic) patients who are transported by emergency medical services when compared with their non-Hispanic white counterparts.

7 Sep 2019

How political maneuvering derailed a red state’s path to Medicaid expansion

This was supposed to be the year Medicaid expansion finally happened in Kansas.

6 Sep 2019

Physician-hospital integration increases health care costs, study shows

When physicians integrate with hospitals, the cost of health care rises even though there's no evidence patients get better treatment, according to a new paper by experts at Rice University and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

6 Sep 2019

Cancer patients with low income and no insurance see fewer trial benefits

When it comes to benefiting from experimental treatments offered in cancer clinical trials, your health insurance status and where you live matters, according to results of two new research studies to be presented at the 2019 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, held September 6 and 7 in San Diego.

5 Sep 2019

Sepsis care quality improvement program saves lives and reduces healthcare costs

A sepsis care quality improvement program saves lives, shortens hospital stays and reduces healthcare costs, according to a study by researchers at Loyola Medicine and Loyola University Chicago.

5 Sep 2019