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.

State highlights: Health plan settles with D.C. over payments; Ga. judge won't stop contract despite UnitedHealthcare concerns; Calif. voters know little on Obamacare

A selection of health policy stories from the District of Columbia, Georgia, California, New York, Montana, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

23 Aug 2013

Report finds number of doctors accepting Medicare patients is up

The number of physicians accepting new Medicare patients rose by one-third between 2007 and 2011 and is now higher than the number of physicians accepting new private insurance patients, according to a Department of Health and Human Services report obtained by USA TODAY. In 2007, about 925,000 doctors billed Medicare for their services. In 2011, that number had risen to 1.25 million, according to the report by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (Kennedy, 8/22).

23 Aug 2013

Enrollment in exchanges key to health law success

Politico notes that enrollment in online marketplaces in California, Florida and Texas will have an outsized impact on whether the Obama administration achieves its nationwide goals for expanding coverage. Other outlets report how states will market the new insurance plans and how some Americans are confused by health insurance generally and Obamacare in particular.

23 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 22, 2013

Today's headlines include news reports about how summer politics are shaking out around the health law's implementation.

22 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Did Sen. Cruz get early benefits from Canadian health care?; Medicaid expansion won't work if doctors don't accept patients

Quite without realizing it, apparently, the location of Cruz's birth automatically made him a citizen of our socialist (in healthcare, at least) neighbor to the north. Did his mother receive excellent free medical care under Canada's single-payer healthcare system when her baby was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1970? Did little Ted, who moved back to the United States with his Cuban-born father and American-born mother when he was 4, get free vaccinations and pediatric care from his Canadian doctors? We'll probably never know (Robin Abcarian, 8/20).

22 Aug 2013

State insurance exchanges go for flashy (or not) branding

New York named its health exchange, complete with new logo and ad. In Idaho, the GOP governor, a vocal opponent of the health law, lauds his state's insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, Florida officials express concerns about the federal exchange's "navigator" concept.

22 Aug 2013

Are they talking? Mixed messages on whether Texas is seeking health law funds

News outlets try to pin down whether Texas officials are in discussions with the Obama administration to gain access to an estimated $100 million in health law funds. Meanwhile, a South Dakota panel lays out the pros and cons of expanding Medicaid in that state.

22 Aug 2013

State highlights: Judge nullifies 2011 Brooklyn hospital deal

A selection of health policy stories from New York, California, Alaska, Georgia and Texas.

22 Aug 2013

Virginia's Medicaid panel meets, but covers little new ground

During a Monday planning meeting, a Virginia Medicaid policymaking panel examined what other states are doing in terms of expanding the program. Hundreds of conservative activists who oppose this health law provision rallied at the state capitol.

21 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Republican patient takes GOP health message to task; the deadlines the administration has missed

In recent months, President Obama and his subordinates have waived or delayed a number of Obamacare's notable features, such as the law's employer mandate, and its procedures for protecting taxpayers from fraud and identity theft.

21 Aug 2013

State highlights: Mental health contract raised costs in La., audit says

A selection of health policy stories from California, Louisiana and the District of Columbia.

21 Aug 2013

Nearly 8M young adults enrolled in parent's health plan gain coverage under Affordable Care Act

An estimated 7.8 million of the 15 million young adults who were enrolled in a parent's health plan last year likely would not have been eligible for this coverage without the health reform law's dependent coverage provision, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey.

21 Aug 2013

Kronick named to AHRQ top spot

Health reform researcher Richard Kronick, PhD, will become the new director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) after longtime director Carolyn Clancy, MD, leaves the post later this month. The announcement was made public in the agency's daily afternoon electronic newsletter.

21 Aug 2013

State highlights: Fort Worth to move retirees into Medicare advantage plans; Calif. preps Medi-Cal cuts; Calif. bill would help provide medical interpreters

A selection of health policy stories from Texas, California, Maryland, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois and Oklahoma.

20 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: GOP trapped between angry base and reality of health law; small businesses 'scrambling;' competing views of Medicaid expansion in Va.

Recent political reporting suggests that Republican leaders are in a state of high anxiety, trapped between an angry base that still views Obamacare as the moral equivalent of slavery and the reality that health reform is the law of the land and is going to happen (Paul Krugman, 8/18).

20 Aug 2013

Docs prescribe more radiation if they have financial interest in it; Medicare's new e-prescribing ayment spurs use

Doctors who have a financial interest in prescribing radiation treatment do it more, a congressional study says. In the meantime, new Medicare payment incentives drive a rise in e-prescribing.

20 Aug 2013

Insurers seek clarity on who's responsible if consumers who receive subsidies don't pay their share

Insurance officials are asking the Obama administration to make clear who is responsible financially if people who get federal subsidies to buy health insurance don't pay their premiums.

20 Aug 2013

With Medicaid expansion, some people will be newly eligible while others will move to health exchanges

News outlets examine how the Medicaid expansion and other health law changes might reshape the program in various locations across the country.

20 Aug 2013

Study shows ART has reduced immunosuppression and viremia among PHIV youth

The advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed HIV from a death sentence into a chronic disease. In one of the largest studies of perinatally infected HIV (PHIV) patients to date, Agwu, et al, found that the proportion of patients on ART has increased and rates of viremia and advanced immunosuppression have decreased. But the rates of both markers in older patients are higher, according to an article in the Fall issue of The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS).

20 Aug 2013

Detailing the health law's implementation hurdles

Continued opposition to the overhaul is one of the administration's biggest challenges. In addition, many consumers eligible to buy insurance in new online marketplaces still don't understand their benefits and obligations under the law. Meanwhile, insurance companies are gearing up to sell policies.

20 Aug 2013

Medicaid News and Research

State highlights: Health plan settles with D.C. over payments; Ga. judge won't stop contract despite UnitedHealthcare concerns; Calif. voters know little on Obamacare

Report finds number of doctors accepting Medicare patients is up

Enrollment in exchanges key to health law success

First Edition: August 22, 2013

Viewpoints: Did Sen. Cruz get early benefits from Canadian health care?; Medicaid expansion won't work if doctors don't accept patients

State insurance exchanges go for flashy (or not) branding

Are they talking? Mixed messages on whether Texas is seeking health law funds

State highlights: Judge nullifies 2011 Brooklyn hospital deal

Virginia's Medicaid panel meets, but covers little new ground

Viewpoints: Republican patient takes GOP health message to task; the deadlines the administration has missed

State highlights: Mental health contract raised costs in La., audit says

Nearly 8M young adults enrolled in parent's health plan gain coverage under Affordable Care Act

Kronick named to AHRQ top spot

State highlights: Fort Worth to move retirees into Medicare advantage plans; Calif. preps Medi-Cal cuts; Calif. bill would help provide medical interpreters

Viewpoints: GOP trapped between angry base and reality of health law; small businesses 'scrambling;' competing views of Medicaid expansion in Va.

Docs prescribe more radiation if they have financial interest in it; Medicare's new e-prescribing ayment spurs use

Insurers seek clarity on who's responsible if consumers who receive subsidies don't pay their share

With Medicaid expansion, some people will be newly eligible while others will move to health exchanges

Study shows ART has reduced immunosuppression and viremia among PHIV youth

Detailing the health law's implementation hurdles

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