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.

Roundup: Conn. governor's budget proposal would shed thousands from Medicaid; Insurance rates to rise 2.7% in Mass.; Calif. group wants tighter doc narcotic control

Gov. Dannel Malloy said he would close Connecticut's $1.2 billion budget gap with a mix of spending cuts, including to hospitals and programs for the poor, and new revenues, including the extension of some business taxes that were scheduled to expire.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Political cartoon: 'Coming To Your Neighborhood Soon?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Coming To Your Neighborhood Soon?" By Matt Wuerker, Politico.

9 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: 'Empty budget gestures'; GOP should endorse 'doomsday' sequester; 'Imagined dangers' imperil vaccine successes

President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to put off -- again -- the start of the "sequester," a series of across-the-board spending cuts that would save $1.2 billion over 10 years.

9 Feb 2013

Medicaid expansion, health exchanges tempt some GOP governors

Politico reports that certain Republican governors are going forward with the implementation of these health law provisions without facing a backlash within their states.

9 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Iowa 'botched' high risk pool; Clinton praises Family and Medical Leave Act; HHS contraceptive policy's 'sensible balance'

The health reform law will get millions of Americans coverage in 2014. Until then, Congress offered Iowa up to $35 million to provide temporary insurance for people whose health prevent them from buying coverage on their own. Iowa botched the entire concept behind the high-risk pool, and state and federal officials stood by and failed to take corrective action.

7 Feb 2013

Roundup: Calif. missing out on millions of dollars because of disagreements, software problems; Mass. finds more problems at compounding pharmacies; Hope for Kan. Medicaid managed care

California's court-run prison health care program is missing out on tens of millions of dollars a year in federal funds because of disagreement with counties and software problems, a new legislative report states. The legislative analyst's office found increasing numbers of prison inmates who, because of their low income status, are eligible for the state's Medicaid program.

6 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. 'Healthy Families' deficit at $100M

The Healthy Families program has run out of money, according to state health officials. The deficit currently stands at almost $100 million and will keep rising every month, according to Janette Casillas, executive director of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which oversees Healthy Families. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration is pursuing two ideas for refilling the coffers: reinstitution of a recently expired tax on managed care organizations and an appropriation bill if the MCO tax isn't revived.

6 Feb 2013

Fifth GOP governor backs Medicaid expansion

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced Monday that he will push to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income Ohioans, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius pledged to fund such expansions longterm.

6 Feb 2013

Feds clear way for Fla. to enroll Medicaid recipients into private plans

The waiver approved by HHS means elderly people who need long-term care can be put in programs that will offer services in their homes and help them stay out of nursing homes, the Associated Press reports.

6 Feb 2013

Elan agrees to restructure Tysabri collaboration with Biogen Idec

Elan Corporation, plc today announced that it has agreed to restructure the Tysabri® collaboration with Biogen Idec.

6 Feb 2013

Teva initiates enrollment in AZILECT Phase IV clinical study for PD-MCI

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today enrollment of the first patient in the MODERATO study - a Phase IV clinical study designed to evaluate the effect of AZILECT (rasagiline tablets) on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI).

6 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Sen. Hatch's prescription for safeguarding entitlements; Medicare crackdown on CVS drug program; JFK's mental health vision failing

American families are used to working with dollar amounts starting with hundreds and thousands. But the fiscal situation of our country requires us to act in terms of billions and trillions. ... Unfortunately, waiting until the last minute to stop a crisis has become standard operating procedure in Washington. But that isn't how we should be tackling our debt or safeguarding Medicare and Medicaid.

5 Feb 2013

BD first quarter revenues increase 3.7% to $1.90 billion

BD, a leading global medical technology company, today reported quarterly revenues of $1.90 billion for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2012, representing an increase of 3.7 percent from the prior-year period, or 5.2 percent on a foreign currency-neutral basis.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 5 Feb 2013

Oregon Health Insurance Experiment wins HSR Impact Award from AcademyHealth

AcademyHealth today awarded its Health Services Research (HSR) Impact Award to work that used for the first time a randomized, controlled study design to answer questions about how access to public insurance affects health, health care use, and other outcomes.

5 Feb 2013

State roundup: Minn. officials want money for coverage expansion

Gov. Mark Dayton and his Human Services commissioner will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to lobby for federal money for MinnesotaCare. MinnesotaCare is a state-subsidized health plan that insures about 130,000 people under age 65. Dayton and Commissioner Lucinda Jesson are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Washington with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

5 Feb 2013

State officials, policy experts mull health law implementation issues

The Medicaid expansion continues to trigger significant debate and discussion among state officials.

5 Feb 2013

CMS releases overdue final 'Sunshine Act' rule on payments to physicians

Under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, financial relationships that drug and device makers have with doctors must be disclosed.

5 Feb 2013

In upcoming budget battles, Democrats appear unlikely to cut Medicaid funding

News outlets report that the health care program for the poor seems secure in upcoming fiscal fights. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says efforts to fix the fiscal problems will have to include new revenues and can't just be cuts in spending.

5 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Obama's 'olive branch' on birth control coverage; Sen. Kirk recounts his stroke therapy; Nurses oppose mandatory flu shots

The Obama administration released the final details Friday of the exemption it will provide religious-affiliated employers from the requirement to include free birth control in employees' insurance policies. Not surprisingly, the announcement didn't seem to mollify any of the critics who'd been arguing that the exemption was inadequate.

4 Feb 2013