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.

First Edition: May 13, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been seeking out funds from private sources to support efforts to publicize the health law.

13 May 2013

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

There has been a flurry of recent attention over two novel infectious agents: the first, a strain of avian influenza virus (H7N9) in China that is causing severe respiratory disease and other serious health complications in people; the second, a coronavirus, first reported last year in the Middle East, that has brought a crop of new infections.

13 May 2013

Highlights: Feds sue Fla. Senate president's former company over Medicare billing practices; Okla. eyes existing Medicaid program to cover more people

Department of Justice is suing the hospice company founded by Florida's Senate president, accusing it of submitting tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicare claims for more than a decade, including while Don Gaetz was vice chairman of the board (5/9).

13 May 2013

Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Since many of the people who will gain insurance under the federal health law will likely get such individual plans through the state-based online marketplaces, or exchanges, researchers sought to identify the effects on vulnerable populations, some of whom with incomes above 400 percent of the poverty level and thus will not qualify for Medicaid or receive subsidies.

13 May 2013

In states that opt against Medicaid expansion, rural areas could miss out most

Also in the news, updates from Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear announced he will proceed with the expansion; Michigan, where lawmakers advance a plan to expand Medicaid -- with conditions; and California, where a compromise proposal continues to be a hot topic.

13 May 2013

Study shows patient satisfaction from a pharmacy program

As hospitals look for ways to improve patient satisfaction and boost their Medicare reimbursement, a Henry Ford Hospital study found that an inpatient pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service might be an unexpected opportunity.

13 May 2013

Feds offer positive signals about progress on health exchanges

USA Today reports that federal officials say the government is meeting deadlines, testing systems and putting the infrastructure in place to get these online insurance marketplaces up and running. Also, Modern Healthcare reports that the National Association of Health Underwriters is urging extensive training for the exchange navigators.

13 May 2013

First Edition: May 10, 2013

Todya's headlines include reports about efforts by the Obama administration to boost health exchange enrollment.

10 May 2013

Longer looks: A wife's Alzheimer's, Obamacare and workers' hours, doctors and drug companies

When his wife got Alzheimer's disease, lawyer Ken Chiate invested all his hopes in an unorthodox treatment. Nothing, it seems, could make him give up on it. ... Jeannette's difficulties seemed to emerge out of nowhere. She couldn't grasp the rules of a dice game. She kept asking questions her husband had just answered. ... in 2001, at age 58, she was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. As months and years passed, she fell into an angry haze that was determined to be Alzheimer's disease.

10 May 2013

Viewpoints: A nurse finds getting coordinated care for her husband challenging; Iowa legislator outlines problems with Medicaid; Researcher's quest to save experiments after sandy

In 2011, my husband, Eric, a trial attorney, was felled by a brain stem stroke just before he was to board a flight at O'Hare in Chicago. He was just 53 years old with no prior health conditions or problems. From the outset, we knew his recovery and rehabilitation would be long and difficult. We didn't know that his transition to post-hospital medical care would be just as challenging.

10 May 2013

State roundup: Miss. Gov. says Medicaid can go on without reauthorization

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he thinks he can run Medicaid even if lawmakers don't reauthorize the program or set its budget by the time the state's new fiscal year starts July 1. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported Bryant's remarks and said he spoke about Medicaid after taking part in a tourism event at the state Capitol (5/9).

10 May 2013

Affordable Care Act falls well short in improving health outcomes, reveals new ADA analysis

When it comes to access to routine dental care – a major determinant of oral health – the Affordable Care Act falls well short in its goals of lowering costs, increasing access and improving health outcomes, according to new analysis by the American Dental Association.

10 May 2013

New data help explain hospital pricing, but experts caution that Medicare and insurers get much lower rates

Although the government releases a list of what hospitals across the country charge for common procedures in an effort to make health costs more transparent, few patients or their insurers pay that.

10 May 2013

Medicaid expansion unlikely in Ohio, Texas; California moves forward

As the clock continues to wind down on state legislative sessions, the optional expansion of eligibility for the program looks unlikely in those states. But, in California, health care advocates offer a compromise approach on how to move ahead.

10 May 2013

California's health exchange board given unusual degree of secrecy over contracts

The Associated Press reports that a California state law created a state agency to oversee implementation of the health law and gave it authority to keep what it spent on contractors a secret.

10 May 2013

USF, Aetna to examine influence of genetic testing on breast cancer treatment

The University of South Florida and Aetna are launching a ground-breaking study that will examine the influence genetic testing may have on clinical treatment decisions among breast cancer patients and their doctors.

10 May 2013

Gentiva Health Services net revenues decrease 5% to $415.6M in first quarter 2013

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., the largest provider of home health and hospice services in the United States based on revenue, today reported first quarter 2013 results.

9 May 2013

First Edition: May 9, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the politics surrounding the health law, both in terms of the latest GOP push for repeal and the Obama administration's implementation efforts.

9 May 2013

End-of-life care issues need to become integral part of public health agenda, reveals new article

A new article available online in the American Journal of Public Health by two Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty makes a compelling case that end-of-life care issues need to become an integral part of the public health agenda.

9 May 2013

Medicaid expansion: Different states rely on different strategies

The decision-making process in West Virginia was long and involved, while the outcome of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's push for the expansion is still in flux. In Ohio, advocates are considering taking the proposal to the voters if the legislature won't pass it.

9 May 2013

Medicaid News and Research

First Edition: May 13, 2013

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

Highlights: Feds sue Fla. Senate president's former company over Medicare billing practices; Okla. eyes existing Medicaid program to cover more people

Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

In states that opt against Medicaid expansion, rural areas could miss out most

Study shows patient satisfaction from a pharmacy program

Feds offer positive signals about progress on health exchanges

First Edition: May 10, 2013

Longer looks: A wife's Alzheimer's, Obamacare and workers' hours, doctors and drug companies

Viewpoints: A nurse finds getting coordinated care for her husband challenging; Iowa legislator outlines problems with Medicaid; Researcher's quest to save experiments after sandy

State roundup: Miss. Gov. says Medicaid can go on without reauthorization

Affordable Care Act falls well short in improving health outcomes, reveals new ADA analysis

New data help explain hospital pricing, but experts caution that Medicare and insurers get much lower rates

Medicaid expansion unlikely in Ohio, Texas; California moves forward

California's health exchange board given unusual degree of secrecy over contracts

USF, Aetna to examine influence of genetic testing on breast cancer treatment

Gentiva Health Services net revenues decrease 5% to $415.6M in first quarter 2013

First Edition: May 9, 2013

End-of-life care issues need to become integral part of public health agenda, reveals new article

Medicaid expansion: Different states rely on different strategies

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