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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.

Burden of care for many immigrants untouched by health law's Medicaid expansion

Also in the news, media outlets offer news and analysis regarding Medicaid expansion plans and debates in Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri.

5 Apr 2013

Walgreens' Take Care Clinics expand access to health care services

Access to health care services is an ongoing challenge to the U.S. health care system. With a physician shortage, aging population, a growing prevalence of chronic diseases and up to 30 million people projected to gain insurance coverage in 2014 through the Affordable Care Act, the issue will become even more critical - and may further impact both patients and the health care system at large.

4 Apr 2013

Vermont's health care can serve as roadmap for other states

Vermont's aggressive health care reform initiatives can serve as a roadmap for other states, according to a Master of Public Health candidate at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

4 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Obama's brain initiative is 'modest but welcome start;' Disability insurance facing 'immediate crisis'

President Obama officially announced his new brain research initiative on Tuesday, with a pledge to put $100 million in his 2014 budget to support work at three federal agencies.

4 Apr 2013

States continue efforts to find their own way forward on Medicaid expansion

Today's news regarding this health law provision comes from developments in Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Texas.

4 Apr 2013

Confirmation hearing for CMS nominee set for next week

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a session on whether to approve Marilyn Tavenner to head the agency that controls Medicare and Medicaid.

4 Apr 2013

Rate boost to Medicare Advantage plans powers insurers' stock surge

Health insurers led gains on Wall Street Tuesday after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reversed plans to make payment cuts to Medicare Advantage plans and instead offered a 3.3 percent increase.

4 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 3, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the latest round of payment rates for private Medicare plans led to stock market gains for insurers.

3 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Actuaries report validates critics' skepticism of law; Campaign to repeal medical devices tax is paying off

The non-partisan Society of Actuaries last week said that because of Obamacare, insurers could pay an average of 32% more for medical claims. Those costs will be passed onto those who buy insurance on the individual market in the form of dramatically higher premiums.

3 Apr 2013

Roundup: Feds cut N.Y. Medicaid payments $1.2B; 93,000 fewer kids enroll in CHIP in Pa.; W. Va. lawmakers promise miners benefits

Federal authorities have dramatically lowered the amount that New York state can claim from the federal government for certain medical services, costing the state an estimated $1.2 billion.

3 Apr 2013

Indiana House committee approves alternative option for Medicaid expansion

The legislation would use the state's Healthy Indiana Plan to add coverage for 400,000 low-income residents.

3 Apr 2013

Feds boost rather than cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans

The insurance industry won a major lobbying victory Monday after the Obama administration backtracked on an earlier plan to cut Medicare Advantage payments to insurers by 2.2 percent in 2014 and instead decided to give them a 3.3 percent increase.

3 Apr 2013

Supporters of Medicaid expansion fight to be heard in some statehouses

Mississippi House Democrats blocked passage of the state's Medicaid budget Sunday to force a vote on expanding the program, while supporters and critics do battle in Missouri, Montana and Arkansas.

2 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 2, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers readers' questions about the new marketplaces where consumers can buy 2014 health policies as part of the federal health law. (Andrews, 4/2).

2 Apr 2013

Louisiana health secretary submits resignation

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's health secretary -- Bruce Greenstein -- is resigning amid a probe into a Medicaid contract he awarded to a former employer.

2 Apr 2013

Federal officials look to mass marketing to sell health law

The administration faces a tough challenge to get the public to understand and accept the health law -- and, then, to sign up the millions without coverage.

2 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: 'Big risks' of buying private insurance with Medicaid dollars; One month of sequestration

The Obama administration and Republican officials in several states are exploring ways to redirect federal money intended to expand Medicaid, the main public insurance program for the poor, and use it instead to buy private health insurance for Medicaid recipients.

2 Apr 2013

Roundup: D.C. sued over Medicaid reimbursement; Texas end-of-life care compromise close; Vt. to post health care rates

Two facilities that treat severely ill poor patients could be forced to curtail services if the District does not fully reimburse them for Medicaid costs, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

2 Apr 2013

Potential pact on medicare changes could lead to budget deal

The New York Times reports that a possible agreement between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans on "broad systemic changes to Medicare" could help spur a budget deal. And The Wall Street Journal reports the White House is weighing inclusion of some entitlement changes in its 2014 budget proposal as a way to prod further talks.

30 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Time to focus on health care prices; Entitlement programs and generational warfare; Cigarette tax hikes and smoking cessation

Traditionally, the theory driving discussions on the high cost of health care in the United States has been that there is enormous waste in the system, taking the form of excess utilization of care. From that theory it follows that methods of controlling the growth of health spending should focus on ways to reduce the use of unnecessary or only marginally beneficial health care.

30 Mar 2013