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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.

Harkin lifts hold on Tavenner nomination to lead CMS

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the timing for a Senate vote on her confirmation as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is unclear.

9 May 2013

'Grand bargain' budget deal appears increasingly unlikely

News outlets report that pressure is diminishing as the federal government's "red ink" recedes, leaving Democrats far less likely to consider major changes and trims to Medicare that Republicans view as the building block for any such agreement.

9 May 2013

State roundup: Ala. lawmakers OK shift to Medicaid managed care

A bill that restructures the way Medicaid is administered passed the Alabama Legislature Tuesday and now awaits the governor's signature. The State Medicaid Agency now pays doctors directly for services provided to Medicaid patients. Under the new policy, there will be several regions managed by privately owned, for-profit Regional Care Organizations that will contract with doctors and other providers (Wingard, 5/7).

9 May 2013

Hospital billing varies widely for the same procedures, Medicare data show

Data being released for the first time by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show how billing varies not just between regions, but among hospitals in the same city.

9 May 2013

GOP supermajority in Missouri scuttles Medicaid expansion plans

Lawmakers opt to set up committees to study the issue instead. In Texas, some tea party-affiliated lawmakers threaten to reject the state budget if negotiators include a rider that would allow discussions about expanding coverage with the federal government. Efforts in California, meanwhile, move forward with a $26.5 million injection from the California Endowment.

9 May 2013

Calif. Senate leader readies mental health service expansion

The California Senate leader is proposing increasing mental health services to reduce how many end up in jail or ERs. In Massachusetts, officials plan greater scrutiny of how insurers cover mental health care.

9 May 2013

First Edition: May 8, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about government data showing the wide variation in what hospitals charge Medicare patients for common inpatient procedures.

8 May 2013

Viewpoints: Medicaid's effect on health debated; Young adults central to lowering anxiety about online marketplaces

A study comparing low-income people in Oregon who received access to Medicaid over the past two years with those who did not, found that those on Medicaid visited doctors and hospitals more often, suffered less from depression and were more financially secure.

8 May 2013

HHS takes first steps in outreach effort to enroll consumers in health exchanges

CQ HealthBeat reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is now collecting contact information for consumers so the agency can provide updates. Meanwhile, Illinois opened a competitive grant process to award funds to community groups to help with the state's consumer education effort.

8 May 2013

Harkin lifts hold on Tavenner nomination

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Tuesday that he would allow the nomination of Marilyn Tavenner to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to go forward.

8 May 2013

State roundup: Medicaid contractor sues La. over canceled deal

A Maryland-based company whose nearly $200 million Medicaid contract was canceled amid an ongoing federal investigation sued Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration Monday for terminating the deal (5/6).

8 May 2013

National Transitions of Care Coalition cites patient education as key component of post hospital health management, disease prevention framework

The National Transitions of Care Coalition has cited patient education as a required component of post hospital health management and disease prevention framework. Today's technologies and digital delivery options allows health providers to target reductions in re-admissions, and emergency department visits, while improving patient compliance and patient safety within the hospital.

7 May 2013

Primary health care for patients with urinary tract infections can save nearly $4 billion in ER visits

Giving patients better access to primary health care could save nearly $4 billion a year in unnecessary emergency room visits for a single common complaint - urinary tract infections - according to a study by the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

7 May 2013

Lower income, pregnant women may have increased risk for anemia

Lower income, urban women may be at increased risk for anemia during pregnancy if they live more than .25 miles, considered a "walking distance," from a healthy food source, according to a new study by researchers at Montefiore Medical Center.

7 May 2013

First Edition: May 7, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about two new studies exploring whether the slowdown in the nation's health spending growth rates is, in fact, due more to structural changes in the health ystem than to the economy.

7 May 2013

Do children's health concerns fall through the health law's cracks?

The final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be bad news for re-authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a congressional staffer said. … Authorization for the program, which provides health coverage to families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford costly health insurance, expires at the end of September 2013.

7 May 2013

Viewpoints: Assessing the Oregon Medicaid experiment; health insurance hysteria; in Florida, 'toxic politics' beats out common sense

The people who got Medicaid used more health care, and seem to have done so smartly - they got preventive care, they got their diabetes diagnosed and began managing it.

7 May 2013

White House Medicare proposal draws ire from advocates, liberals

The Hill reports that President Barack Obama's plan to combine Medicare's doctor and hospital costs is unpopular among advocates for the elderly and some liberal Democrats.

7 May 2013

Despite outreach efforts, many eligible seniors are turning down health subsidy program

The Low Income Subsidy for Medicare Part D is a rare beast in economics research. The subsidy provides prescription drug coverage essentially free for low-income adults. That means it is what economists call a dominant option.

7 May 2013

Fla. legislature adjourns without Medicaid expansion deal

It seemed like a watershed moment for the Affordable Care Act when Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), a staunch Obamacare opponent, embraced the Medicaid expansion in February. ... Scott wouldn't be the one to "deny Floridians" a part of the health care law - but the Florida legislature had other plans.

7 May 2013