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.

State highlights: Insurer uses Tenn. position for bargaining power; N.Y.'s Medicaid cash drain

The dominion of Tennessee's largest health insurer is reflected in its headquarters' lofty perch above the city, atop a hill that during the Civil War was lined with Union cannons to repel Confederate troops. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has used its position to establish a similarly firm foothold in the first year of the marketplaces created by the health law. The company sold 88 percent of the plans for Tennessee individuals and families. Only one other insurer, Cigna, bothered to offer policies in Chattanooga, and the premiums were substantially higher than those offered by BlueCross (Rau, 8/6).

7 Aug 2014

Almost Family records net service revenues of $125 million for Q2 2014

Almost Family, Inc., a leading regional provider of home health nursing and personal care services, announced today its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014.

6 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that details how politics play a role in the nation's health care gap between red and blue states.

6 Aug 2014

State highlights: New York hospital mergers surging; Calif. court says home health workers can't sue for damages, injuries associated with caring for Alzheimer's patients

A selection of health policy stories from New York, California, Ohio, Wisconsin and Massachusetts. Hospital takeovers are surging in the New York region, raising concerns that health costs could climb and care could change.

6 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Treating Ebola patients in the U.S.; Medicare costs; discouraging Medicaid enrollment

It was a commendable decision - and more unnerving than risky - for Emory University to accept into its hospital two Americans who contracted the deadly Ebola virus while doing humanitarian work in Africa.

6 Aug 2014

Tenn.-based hospital company to pay $98 million to settle improper billing claims

Community Health Systems and the federal Justice Department announced the settlement Monday. In other hospital news, Tenet says its financial outlook is improving.

6 Aug 2014

Medicaid repayment possibilities put New York state credit rating at risk

One of the nation's biggest credit-rating firms warned New York officials and investors Monday that the state's much-improved rating is at risk as the federal government tries to claw back nearly $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments.

6 Aug 2014

Hospitals see new revenues, stiffer fines from Obamacare

A surge in insured patients using health services has increased hospital revenues, even as Medicare stiffens penalties for facilities with high readmission rates or patients who contract infections and injuries while admitted for other reasons.

5 Aug 2014

Emergency department closures can affect death rates, finds UCSF research

In the first analysis of its kind, UC San Francisco research shows that emergency department closures can have a ripple effect on patient outcomes at nearby hospitals.

5 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 5, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of a partnership between two of California's largest insurers in which they will join forces to create a database of patient medical records.

5 Aug 2014

$5.8 million grant for coalition project to help reduce strokes and heart attacks in San Diego County

Approximately 84 million people in the United States suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, and about 720,000 Americans have a heart attack every year, which works out to one every 44 seconds.

5 Aug 2014

Diabetics who live in low-income neighborhoods are up to 10 times more likely to lose toe, foot, leg

It's no secret that poverty is bad for your health. Now a new UCLA study demonstrates that California diabetics who live in low-income neighborhoods are up to 10 times more likely to lose a toe, foot or leg than patients residing in more affluent areas of the state.

5 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Ignagni on prices of new drugs; Sen. Johnson on the difficulty of suing a president

Lately, there has been considerable debate about the soaring prices of specialty drugs, which are aimed at difficult-to-treat diseases.

5 Aug 2014

Medicaid roundup: Florida receives 3-year renewal for managed care program; Illinois limits Sovaldi

About 3 million Floridians are enrolled in the privatized program. Meanwhile, Illinois Medicaid puts limits on who is eligible for Sovaldi, an expensive hepatitis C drug, and Kansas recoups more than $28 million in Medicaid fraud.

5 Aug 2014

Cost-saving strategy for orthopedic procedures at hospitals fails to meet goals

A pilot program intended to implement and test a cost-saving strategy for orthopedic procedures at hospitals in California failed to meet its goals, succumbing to recruitment challenges, regulatory uncertainty, administrative burden and concerns about financial risk, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

5 Aug 2014

AMP publishes updated position statement on the regulation of LDPs

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, non-profit organization serving molecular testing professionals and leading education initiatives, discussions, and policy actions central to improving the development and application of molecular diagnostics, today reaffirmed its position that the vast majority of laboratory developed tests (LDTs), or laboratory developed procedures (LDPs)—a term coined by AMP to more appropriately capture the nature of these processes as medical services—should continue operating under the regulation of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments program at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and not be subject to pre-market review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as suggested in the draft guidance notification issued to Congress on July 31, 2014.

4 Aug 2014

Medicaid News and Research

State highlights: Insurer uses Tenn. position for bargaining power; N.Y.'s Medicaid cash drain

Almost Family records net service revenues of $125 million for Q2 2014

First Edition: August 6, 2014

State highlights: New York hospital mergers surging; Calif. court says home health workers can't sue for damages, injuries associated with caring for Alzheimer's patients

Viewpoints: Treating Ebola patients in the U.S.; Medicare costs; discouraging Medicaid enrollment

Tenn.-based hospital company to pay $98 million to settle improper billing claims

Medicaid repayment possibilities put New York state credit rating at risk

Hospitals see new revenues, stiffer fines from Obamacare

Emergency department closures can affect death rates, finds UCSF research

First Edition: August 5, 2014

$5.8 million grant for coalition project to help reduce strokes and heart attacks in San Diego County

Diabetics who live in low-income neighborhoods are up to 10 times more likely to lose toe, foot, leg

Viewpoints: Ignagni on prices of new drugs; Sen. Johnson on the difficulty of suing a president

Medicaid roundup: Florida receives 3-year renewal for managed care program; Illinois limits Sovaldi

Cost-saving strategy for orthopedic procedures at hospitals fails to meet goals

AMP publishes updated position statement on the regulation of LDPs

First Edition: August 4, 2014

State highlights: Time of turmoil for Georgia hospitals; Oregon Medicaid takes aim at expensive heptatitis C drug

Research roundup: The effect of expensive cancer therapies; missed hospital handovers; children's mental health needs

Administration says next marketplace enrollment season will have 'bumps'

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (2nd Edition) eBook

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Latest News