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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.

Maine to pay $1M to 'conservative' consultant to study Medicaid expansion

Maine's health department will pay a firm led by Gary Alexander, a controversial former welfare chief, to review the state's program and the potential costs of expanding it, according to several media reports. Meanwhile, Indiana, Missouri and South Carolina continue to debate whether to opt in to the health law's broadened Medicaid eligibility.

21 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 20, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that President Barack Obama places some of the blame for the health law's woes with Republicans, and details of comments by an Obama administration tech official that a large portion of the healthcare.gov 'back office' functions are yet to be built.

20 Nov 2013

State highlights: Calif. fines three insurers for denying therapy; Colo.'s Denver Health to shed jobs; Ambulance Co. agrees to pay feds $3M over fraud allegations

California officials said three of the state's largest health insurers illegally denied speech and occupational therapy to patients, and regulators fined one of the companies, Health Net Inc., $300,000 for repeated violations. The state Department of Managed Health Care said Monday that it ordered Health Net, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California to stop denying medically necessary therapy in cases of developmental disabilities, autism and other medical conditions.

20 Nov 2013

White House officials say 20% won't be able to complete HealthCare.gov process to buy insurance

In a progress report, Obama administration officials are predicting that, despite fixes that have been made, one in five people won't be able to buy health insurance via the online process. Still, the pace of enrollments has more than doubled, the New York Times reports.

20 Nov 2013

Report issued early warnings about HealthCare.gov risks

An analysis done in late March by McKinsey & Co. called attention to a number of trouble spots. Meanwhile, Politico details a "Red Team" report done by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that also sounded alarms.

20 Nov 2013

Jousting over Medicaid expansion

In Alaska, Gov. Sean Parnell said Friday his state will not expand Medicaid under the health law, while reports from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Maine assess the decisions -- and, in some cases, continued lobbying -- in those states.

20 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 19, 2013

Today's headlines include news that Obama administration officials were warned about the possibility of website difficulties months ago by an outside consulting firm.

19 Nov 2013

U-M researchers collaborate with MDCH to evaluate statewide influenza vaccination reminder campaign

A new University of Michigan study found that the state immunization registry - the public health database that tracks vaccinations- can be an effective tool to encourage influenza vaccinations during a pandemic.

19 Nov 2013

State highlights: Tenn. gov. hesitates on Medicaid expansion; Calif. primed for big 2014 health care ballot; abortion law fight in Texas rages on

Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee describes it as "trying to thread a needle from 80 yards." Mr. Haslam is only the latest Republican tailor trying to figure out whether to expand the state's Medicaid rolls as prescribed by President Obama's Affordable Care Act. In his case, it involves trying -- so far unsuccessfully -- to balance some sharply conflicting concerns: struggling hospitals, local business groups, dwindling state resources and fierce conservative opposition to the new health care law. And it has left him hanging out there, with no resolution in sight (Lyman, 11/16).

19 Nov 2013

New report examines impact of federal and state policy decisions on community health centers

A new report by the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services examines the impact of federal and state policy decisions on community health centers and their ability to continue providing primary care to the nation's poorest residents.

19 Nov 2013

Obama administration's fix on policy cancellations triggers confusion among consumers, doubts among insurers

News outlets examine the continuing reaction to President Barack Obama's fix as well as how the news is playing on the state level.

19 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Obamacare has resisted death throes before; website success stories from 3 governors; health law taking a toll on choice of doctors in Medicare Advantage

The first time Obamacare seemed finished, doomed, doornail-dead, the voters of Massachusetts played the would-be executioner. In January 2010, they sent a pickup-driving Republican to the Senate to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, apparently depriving the health care bill of its crucial 60th vote and sending Democrats scrambling for a Plan B. ... the deeper force at work, the reason that these near-death experiences keep happening, isn't a website or a broken presidential promise. It's a problem inherent to contemporary liberalism, which is that liberals' proudest achievement, the modern welfare state, tends to resist, corrupt and baffle their efforts at comprehensive reform (Ross Douthat, 11/16).

19 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 18, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the political implications of the healthcare.gov difficulties as well continued coverage of reaction to President Barack Obama's policy cancellation fix.

18 Nov 2013

American Academy of Ophthalmology unveils comprehensive eye disease and condition patient database

The American Academy of Ophthalmology today unveiled the nation's first comprehensive eye disease and condition patient database. The IRIS Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) made its debut in a presentation to 25,000 attendees during the opening session of the world's largest ophthalmic conference - the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

18 Nov 2013

Health insurers leery about 'fix' to Obamacare woes

Top insurance industry executives met with the president on Friday and two spoke this morning, saying the rules change could create "problems."

18 Nov 2013

Cataract surgeries deliver 4,567% financial return on investment to society

Cataract surgeries performed over one year eventually save $123.4 billion over 13 years and delivers a 4,567 percent financial return on investment to society according to the results of a cost-utility study, published online today in the Academy's official journal, Ophthalmology, and will be presented on Nov. 17 at the world's largest ophthalmic conference, the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 117th Annual Meeting, in New Orleans. Researchers say that the results prove that healthcare interventions create substantial economic wealth.

16 Nov 2013

State highlights: Dispute over what doctors can say at Catholic hospital

A dispute between a Colorado cardiologist and a Catholic hospital over what he says is a ban on discussing abortion with patients, even when a pregnancy threatens a woman's life, is part of today's health policy roundup from Colorado and California.

16 Nov 2013

States consider what Obama's canceled plan request means for them

The president's plan to allow insurers to extend canceled health plans through 2014 has state regulators trying to work through the details about how this will affect insurers and the health law's marketplaces in their states. In California, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has asked insurers and marketplace officials to comply with the president's request.

16 Nov 2013

Medicaid enrollment progresses under health overhaul

Gov. Scott Walker says he wants to delay his plan to move more than 70,000 people off Medicaid because the health law online marketplaces are not working well enough yet.

16 Nov 2013

Research: Bariatric surgery significantly safer when performed at accredited center

Bariatric surgery is significantly safer when performed at an accredited center, according to new research* presented here at the 30th Annual Meeting for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) during ObesityWeek 2013, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity.

16 Nov 2013

Medicaid News and Research

Maine to pay $1M to 'conservative' consultant to study Medicaid expansion

First Edition: November 20, 2013

State highlights: Calif. fines three insurers for denying therapy; Colo.'s Denver Health to shed jobs; Ambulance Co. agrees to pay feds $3M over fraud allegations

White House officials say 20% won't be able to complete HealthCare.gov process to buy insurance

Report issued early warnings about HealthCare.gov risks

Jousting over Medicaid expansion

First Edition: November 19, 2013

U-M researchers collaborate with MDCH to evaluate statewide influenza vaccination reminder campaign

State highlights: Tenn. gov. hesitates on Medicaid expansion; Calif. primed for big 2014 health care ballot; abortion law fight in Texas rages on

New report examines impact of federal and state policy decisions on community health centers

Obama administration's fix on policy cancellations triggers confusion among consumers, doubts among insurers

Viewpoints: Obamacare has resisted death throes before; website success stories from 3 governors; health law taking a toll on choice of doctors in Medicare Advantage

First Edition: November 18, 2013

American Academy of Ophthalmology unveils comprehensive eye disease and condition patient database

Health insurers leery about 'fix' to Obamacare woes

Cataract surgeries deliver 4,567% financial return on investment to society

State highlights: Dispute over what doctors can say at Catholic hospital

States consider what Obama's canceled plan request means for them

Medicaid enrollment progresses under health overhaul

Research: Bariatric surgery significantly safer when performed at accredited center

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