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.

Congress’ cold shoulder sends shivers through community health centers

One community health center in New York has frozen hiring. Another in Missouri can't get a bank loan to expand.

30 Sep 2017

Why glaring quality gaps among nursing homes are likely to grow if Medicaid is cut

Nursing homes that rely the most on Medicaid tend to provide the worst care for their residents — not just the people covered by the program but also those who pay privately or have Medicare coverage.

28 Sep 2017

Genetic testing can improve safety of common blood thinner, study shows

Warfarin is a blood thinner that is commonly prescribed to patients to prevent life-threatening blood clots. Despite its longtime use, warfarin remains tricky to dose because a person's genetic makeup influences how the drug is processed in the body.

27 Sep 2017

The GOP repeal bill is imploding. Here are 5 things left hanging on Obamacare

Republicans officially pulled the plug on their last-ditch effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday.

26 Sep 2017

Postcard from Capitol Hill: Health care hearing’s action was in hallway

"Kill the bill, don't kill us," one woman screamed, inches from a U.S. Capitol Police officer's face Monday afternoon in a marbled hallway of U.S. Capitol at the start of the one and only public hearing on the GOP's last-ditch effort to replace the Affordable Care Act.

26 Sep 2017

Sen. Collins announces opposition to GOP bill to replace Obamacare

Even a partial report from the Congressional Budget Office was enough to apparently tip the scales against the latest Republican effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act and prompted a crucial senator to announce she cannot support the bill, seemingly sinking its chances.

26 Sep 2017

Medicaid has a bull’s-eye on its back, which means no one is entirely safe

When high levels of lead were discovered in the public water system in Flint, Mich., in 2015, Medicaid stepped in to help thousands of children get tested for poisoning and receive care.

25 Sep 2017

GOP health bill’s changes go far beyond preexisting conditions

The latest GOP effort to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act is getting a lot of attention, even if its passage seems unlikely. But there is far more to the measure than its changes to rules regarding preexisting health conditions.

22 Sep 2017

A tale of two states: California, Texas and the latest ACA repeal bid

The GOP’s latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act wobbled on Friday as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he could not support it. But the bill known as Graham-Cassidy isn’t dead yet.

22 Sep 2017

Study supports importance of alcohol control policies to reduce homicide

Stronger alcohol policies, including taxes and sales restrictions, have been shown to reduce the likelihood of alcohol involvement among homicide victims, according to a new study from Boston Medical Center and Boston University.

21 Sep 2017

Open your mouth and say goo-goo: Dentists treating ever-younger patients

Allen Barron scrunches up his tiny face and wails as his mother gently tips him backward onto the lap of Jean Calvo, a pediatric dental resident at the University of California-San Francisco.

21 Sep 2017

Last-ditch GOP effort to replace ACA: 5 things you need to know

Republican efforts in Congress to "repeal and replace" the federal Affordable Care Act are back from the dead. Again.

19 Sep 2017

Bemoaning budget cuts, navigators say feds don’t appreciate scope of the job

The Trump administration says many of the organizations that help people enroll in health plans on the federal insurance marketplaces don’t provide enough bang for the buck, sometimes costing thousands of dollars to sign up each customer.

19 Sep 2017

Doctors and older patients should work together to dial back diabetes treatment, study suggests

Anyone with diabetes who takes blood sugar medication knows their doctor prescribed it to help them. After all, the long-term effects of elevated blood sugar can harm everything from the heart and kidneys to the eyes and feet.

15 Sep 2017

Delaying minor surgery for pediatric patients may not offer any neurodevelopmental benefit

Children under age 5 who underwent minor surgery requiring anesthesia had a 26 percent increased risk of later diagnosis with a mental disorder. However, the timing of the procedure did not affect this risk, according to a new study at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and College of Physicians and Surgeons.

14 Sep 2017

Postcard from the Hill: Senators shelve histrionics in search of Obamacare fix

After a summer of flame-throwing over the Affordable Care Act's repeal, Republicans and Democrats are now engaged in a serious collaborative effort to find a legislative solution that would ward off predicted premium rate hikes this year.

13 Sep 2017

Uninsured rate falls to a record low of 8.8 percent

Three years after the Affordable Care Act's coverage expansion took effect, the number of Americans without health insurance fell to 28.1 million in 2016, down from 29 million in 2015, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

12 Sep 2017

New study examines link between health insurance status and childhood cancer survival

A new study examines whether insurance status may affect survival in children diagnosed with cancer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest largely similar survival trends between privately insured children and those with Medicaid at diagnosis, with slight evidence for an increased risk of cancer death in children who were uninsured at diagnosis.

12 Sep 2017

Congress’ tight timetable complicates renewal of children’s health plan

A popular federal-state program that provides health coverage to millions of children in lower- and middle-class families is up for renewal Sept. 30.

8 Sep 2017

For low-income drug users, Medi-Cal offers a fresh start

Breann Johnson stopped using heroin on Mother's Day this year, determined to end her 13-year addiction. Days later, she began three months of residential treatment in Riverside, Calif. — all paid for by California's Medicaid program.

8 Sep 2017