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.

Va. lawmakers establish panel to work on Medicaid expansion

Concerns from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli almost derailed the fragile compromise but revisions secured bipartisan support to pass the bill. Democrats hope it will lead to 400,000 uninsured Virginians moving to Medicaid under the federal health law.

25 Feb 2013

Bayshore Community Hospital's Center for Bariatrics receives ASMBS designation

Bayshore Community Hospital is proud to announce that its Center for Bariatrics has earned the prestigious "Center of Excellence" designation by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

24 Feb 2013

Sequester: Who's to blame? Who will feel the pain?

News outlets analyze the political pressure and partisan in-fighting that is taking shape as the sequester countdown continues. Meanwhile, McClatchy and The New York Times attempt to answer questions about the impact of the scheduled cuts.

24 Feb 2013

Expansion debate, decisions play out in Va., Ga., Texas

As state legislators and governors wrestle with budget issues and health law implementation decisions, the role of the Medicaid expansion is shaping up in different ways in different locations.

24 Feb 2013

State roundup: Long-term care rate hike planned in Calif.

Dailey Mayo received some stunning news in the mail last week: an 85% rate increase for the long-term-care insurance he has had for 15 years from the California Public Employees' Retirement System.

24 Feb 2013

Texas, S.C. lawmakers weigh added spending for Medicaid

The Texas House approved supplemental funding while a S.C. legislative committee passed a bill with $75 million in new spending for that state's Medicaid program.

24 Feb 2013

After January renomination, a hearing for Tavenner appears likely

The Washington Post inteviewed the Obama administration's pick to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

24 Feb 2013

Some red states wavering on opposition to Medicaid expansion

This week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, one of the fiercest critics of this health law provision, reversed his position and said he would proceed with the expansion. But he's not the only one, and, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, it's because the idea is just "too good to pass up."

24 Feb 2013

HHS funds projects in 25 states to try to lower Medicaid costs, improve care

The Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday that it would provide 25 of the 50 states with funding to test new ways to lower costs and improve care within the national Medicaid program for the poor.

23 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Other GOP governors should note what Scott wrangled out of HHS; Curbs on painkillers need to be tougher

Those governors who earlier embraced ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion - here's looking at you, Jan Brewer - might be feeling a little cheated. If only they had held out a bit longer, they might have been able to obtain something from the Obama administration in return, as Florida's Rick Scott purports to have done.

23 Feb 2013

Feds outline what insurers must cover

The final rule on essential health benefits, issued yesterday, defines what must be covered in health plans sold in online marketplaces beginning this fall, including prescription benefits and mental health services, and prohibits discrimination based on age or pre-existing medical conditions.

22 Feb 2013

Medicaid expansion divides GOP governors

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is the latest Republican executive to reverse his opposition to the health law's Medicaid expansion. Some other fervent opponents, however -- among them, Rick Perry of Texas and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana -- continue to hold the line.

22 Feb 2013

Gov. Scott's Medicaid decision riles conservatives

The Florida governor's move to expand Medicaid under the health law disappoints some of his supporters, but one newspaper praises the decision.

22 Feb 2013

Looming cuts fuel debate over Medicare and Medicaid spending

As the March 1 deadline for the sequester approaches, news outlets analyze the impact budget cuts might have on the U.S. economy in general and on Medicare specifically.

22 Feb 2013

Amid budget woes, states consider changes to care for developmentally disabled

Fiscal concerns have lawmakers in New York and Kansas considering changes in how they fund care for the developmentally disabled.

22 Feb 2013

Roundup: HHS OKs key part of Fla.'s Medicaid managed care plan; Calif. lawmakers set to take up rules on its health insurance marketplace

The state of Florida won a second victory from HHS that will help the state introduce a statewide Medicaid managed-care program. The agency notified the state that it would grant its request for a medical assistance waiver -- a decision that comes just weeks after the department granted Florida's first request for a waiver for its long-term-care program.

22 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Holtz-Eakin and Roy offer prescription to fix health law; Iowa lawmakers opposed to Medicaid expansion should give up their coverage

Over nearly a century, progressives have pressed for a national, single-payer healthcare system. When it comes to health reform, what have conservatives stood for? For far too long, conservatives have failed to coalesce around a long-term vision of what a free-market healthcare system should look like. ... Obamacare is the logical byproduct of this conservative policy neglect.

22 Feb 2013