Medicaid News and Research

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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.

Opioids after surgery left her addicted. Is that a medical error?

In April this year, Katie Herzog checked into a Boston teaching hospital for what turned out to be a nine-hour-long back surgery.

11 Dec 2017

Patient bedside remains important component of medical education for students

A new web-based tool aimed at improving experiential learning for medical students has demonstrated that learning occurs in patient rooms and in other areas within the hospital, including workstations.

7 Dec 2017

Churning, confusion and disruption — The dark side of marketplace coverage

Cyndee Weston can barely remember the last time she didn't have to switch health plans during an Affordable Care Act sign-up season. By her count, she has been on five plans in five years.

7 Dec 2017

Health risks to farmworkers increase as workforce ages

That bag of frozen cauliflower sitting inside your freezer likely sprang to life in a vast field north of Salinas, Calif. A crew of men and women here use a machine to drop seedlings into the black soil. Another group follows behind, stooped over, tapping each new plant.

7 Dec 2017

Attack on asthma: Scrubbing homes of allergens may tame disease and its costs

After years of studying the causes of asthma, a pediatrician-turned-public health sleuth thinks there's a way to substantially reduce its impact.

6 Dec 2017

Dangling a carrot for patients to take healthy steps: Does it work?

Patricia Alexander knew she needed a mammogram but just couldn't find the time. "Every time I made an appointment, something would come up," said Alexander, 53, who lives in Moreno Valley, Calif.

5 Dec 2017

Language barriers, aversion to credit stall coverage for some Vietnamese

Bích-Thu "Lisa" Pham has become a familiar face at this Vietnamese community center, setting out her Affordable Care Act insurance materials in a small office several afternoons each week.

5 Dec 2017

States — and 9m kids — ‘in a bind’ as Congress dawdles on CHIP funding

Last week, Colorado became the first state to notify families that children who receive health insurance through the Children’s Health Insurance Program are in danger of losing their coverage.

4 Dec 2017

Whistleblower: Medicaid managed-care firm improperly denied care to thousands

In early October, an executive at one of the nation's largest physician-practice management firms handed her bosses the equivalent of a live grenade — a 20-page report that blew up the company and shook the world of managed care for poor patients across California.

1 Dec 2017

New study analyzes generalist versus subspecialty characteristics of U.S. radiologist workforce

A new study by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute analyzes the generalist versus subspecialty characteristics of the U.S. radiologist workforce in the Medicare population from 2012–2014. The study is published online in Radiology.

30 Nov 2017

More doctors in the U.S. now focus on nursing home care, study finds

The number of doctors and advance practitioners in the United States who focus on nursing home care rose by more than a third between 2012 and 2015, according to a new study published today in JAMA from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Nov 2017

Study reveals patients at high risk for opioid overdose deaths

Just over 60 percent of individuals who died from an opioid overdose had been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition, and many had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, a study of more than 13,000 overdose deaths has found.

28 Nov 2017

Heated and deep-pocketed battle erupts over 340B drug discount program

A 25-year-old federal drug discount program has grown so big and controversial that it faces a fight for survival as federal officials and lawmakers furiously debate the program's reach.

28 Nov 2017

Parents are not liable for medical debts of adult children on shared insurance

Are parents responsible for adult children's medical debts? Should people squeeze in appointments and expensive procedures before year's end because of changes that might come with the GOP tax bill? Should consumers pay a broker to help them enroll in a plan? I answer these questions from readers this week.

28 Nov 2017

Surprise ambulance bills: A consumer’s guide

When the ambulance service that picks you up is out-of-network, your insurer pays what it considers fair. And then — surprise! — the ambulance service sends you a bill for the rest.

27 Nov 2017

CF patients in the U.S. show faster rate of improvement in lung function and nutrition

New research comparing cystic fibrosis patients in the United States and Canada showed that, although the patients' nutritional status and lung function improved in both countries over the period from 1990 to 2013, the rate of improvement was faster in the United States.

22 Nov 2017

Massachusetts grabs spotlight by proposing new twist on Medicaid drug coverage

In the absence of new federal policies to tame break-the-bank drug prices, Massachusetts’ state Medicaid program hopes to road-test an idea both radical and market-driven. It wants the power to negotiate discounts for the drugs it purchases and to exclude drugs with limited treatment value.

21 Nov 2017

Displaced Puerto Ricans face obstacles getting health care

The federal government has granted people affected by the devastating hurricanes that wracked coastal states and Puerto Rico 15 extra days to sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

21 Nov 2017

Canadians root for an underdog U.S. health policy idea

Ask people in Canada what they make of American health care, and the answer typically falls between bewilderment and outrage.

20 Nov 2017

Study aims to involve parents in early intervention services for children with autism

Early diagnosis and intervention for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can help change the trajectory of their life. While children can be diagnosed with autism as early as 18-24 months of age, most children are diagnosed between 4-5 years old.

17 Nov 2017