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: La. grand jury to examine $200M Medicaid contract

More than half of the states that applied to participate in a controversial CMS pilot for dual-eligible beneficiaries have either dropped out or delayed implementation of their programs, according to health policy experts. Among the 26 states that applied to participate in the CMS Financial Alignment Initiative, which stems from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, six have dropped out or opted for different "customized" plans and nine have delayed their start dates (Daly, 5/23).

27 May 2013

First Edition: May 24, 2013

Today's headlines include details on California's new health insurance exchange rates, whether consumers will experience "rate shock" and what these numbers say about the health law's implementation.

24 May 2013

Highlights: Geography's role in elective surgeries in Calif.; Conn. Democrats eye shifting $400M in Medicaid money; HHS says Cedars-Sinai has $2.2M in billing errors

Geography plays a role in whether patients in California have elective operations such as joint replacement, weight loss surgery and gallbladder removal, according to a new study. The California HealthCare Foundation study showed wide variations in patient surgeries across the state (Gorman, 5/22).

24 May 2013

States embroiled in Medicaid expansion battles are running out of time

Politico reports that this health law implementation issue remains an open question for about a dozen states. Some are on the brink of giving up for the first year but looking ahead to the next set of state legislature sessions. Meanwhile, news outlets report on related developments in Michigan, Texas, Ohio, California and Iowa.

24 May 2013

New report examines growth of senior hunger in US

HMS, a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp., applauded today the release of a new report the company helped support. Spotlight on Senior Hunger is based on research commissioned and underwritten by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger.

24 May 2013

HHS report finds uptick in doctors' use of electronic health records

Also in the news, the Pentagon is in search of a new system for veterans' health care while San Francisco is "leading the way" in new health data applications.

24 May 2013

First Edition: May 23, 2013

Today's headlines include various status updates about state activity regarding the health law's online insurance marketplaces.

23 May 2013

State roundup: Loophole could mean Calif. docs eat some costs

A loophole in California's upcoming health care overhaul could be exploited by families gaming the system or responding to hardship in a way that doctors say could leave a pile of unpaid bills. A chain of events would create a two-month period during which a family has medical coverage but no insurer must pay its claims. Nonpayment of premiums for subsidized policies would trigger the oddity: Federal law provides a three-month grace period before cancellation -- but insurers are responsible only for the first month (Sanders, 5/21).

23 May 2013

Viewpoints: Mass. experience may not be true test for national health law; 'Dishonest' campaign by medical device makers

Massachusetts is often held up as a window into America's health insurance future, because it embarked on what came to be called the Romneycare reform six years ago. Like the Affordable Care Act provisions going into effect nationwide next year, Romneycare aimed to increase the fraction of the population with health insurance by imposing mandates on employers and employees and by subsidizing health insurance plans for middle-class families without employer plans.

23 May 2013

Hospitals earn nearly nine times more for treating patients who develop CLABSIs, study reports

Johns Hopkins researchers report that hospitals may be reaping enormous income for patients whose hospital stays are complicated by preventable bloodstream infections contracted in their intensive care units.

23 May 2013

Medicaid expansion popular in Southern states, despite govs' opposition

A poll by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found popular support for this and other health law provisions in five southern states despite the conservative political climate. Meanwhile, expansion supporters are strategizing about their next moves in states where they have not been successful.

23 May 2013

Tribal leaders pass resolution supporting Governor Brewer's Medicaid Expansion Effort

Tribal leaders passed a resolution supporting Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid Expansion Effort at the May 17, 2013 meeting of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association.

23 May 2013

Researchers find that over 40% of patients treated for COPD did not actually have the disease

More than 40 percent of patients being treated for COPD at a federally funded clinic did not have the disease, researchers found after evaluating the patients with spirometry, the diagnostic "gold standard" for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

23 May 2013

First Edition: May 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the Medicaid expansion is shaking out in Virginia and Texas, as well as a report about the role health care is playing as the House attempts to negotiate an immigration reform measure.

22 May 2013

Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; What causes genetic testing to be so expensive; Iowa governor offers Medicaid supports a 'glimmer of hope'

We have done it. We have decreased the increase in the cost of healthcare. ... Is this decline the desperately needed bend in the healthcare cost curve or just the impact of the depressed economy? ... A slower growth of healthcare cost would mean less burden on the individual family, freeing that family to invest in and live a higher quality of life.

22 May 2013

State roundup: Nearly 13,000 Calif. hospital workers set to strike

Respiratory therapists, nursing aides, surgical technicians and other patient care workers plan to stage a walkout starting Tuesday morning at five University of California medical centers. More than 12,000 workers from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are expected to participate in the two-day strike over staffing, pay and pension reform, union officials said. An additional 3,400 workers from the University Professional and Technical Employees union plan a one-day sympathy strike (Gorman, 5/21).

22 May 2013

Ground battles continue over states' Medicaid expansion

News reports from Texas, Louisiana, Iowa, Florida and Maine highlight states' continuing debates over this health law provision.

22 May 2013

First Edition: May 21, 2013

Today's headlines include stories examining how the approaching implementation of some health law provisions is highlighting key policy questions.

21 May 2013

Roundup: Okla. governor pushes funding fix to cover 9,000 on Medicaid; Texas lawmakers OK new mental health funds

Gov. Mary Fallin proposed a last-minute legislative change Friday to the state's Insure Oklahoma program that would direct $50 million in state tobacco taxes to pay for more than 9,000 people who are expected to lose their health insurance under the program.

21 May 2013

State rejections of Medicaid expansion likely to widen health disparities

The Los Angeles Times reports that states opting against expanded eligibility -- among them, some of the nation's unhealthiest -- could fall even further behind as the Affordable Care Act is implemented. News outlets also offer reports from Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Florida and Virginia.

21 May 2013

Medicaid News and Research

State highlights: La. grand jury to examine $200M Medicaid contract

First Edition: May 24, 2013

Highlights: Geography's role in elective surgeries in Calif.; Conn. Democrats eye shifting $400M in Medicaid money; HHS says Cedars-Sinai has $2.2M in billing errors

States embroiled in Medicaid expansion battles are running out of time

New report examines growth of senior hunger in US

HHS report finds uptick in doctors' use of electronic health records

First Edition: May 23, 2013

State roundup: Loophole could mean Calif. docs eat some costs

Viewpoints: Mass. experience may not be true test for national health law; 'Dishonest' campaign by medical device makers

Hospitals earn nearly nine times more for treating patients who develop CLABSIs, study reports

Medicaid expansion popular in Southern states, despite govs' opposition

Tribal leaders pass resolution supporting Governor Brewer's Medicaid Expansion Effort

Researchers find that over 40% of patients treated for COPD did not actually have the disease

First Edition: May 22, 2013

Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; What causes genetic testing to be so expensive; Iowa governor offers Medicaid supports a 'glimmer of hope'

State roundup: Nearly 13,000 Calif. hospital workers set to strike

Ground battles continue over states' Medicaid expansion

First Edition: May 21, 2013

Roundup: Okla. governor pushes funding fix to cover 9,000 on Medicaid; Texas lawmakers OK new mental health funds

State rejections of Medicaid expansion likely to widen health disparities

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