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.

New GOP budget triggers immediate budget battles, political reactions

News outlets report that the plan unveiled Tuesday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., almost automatically became "the centerpiece" of the upcoming election-year discourse. The document, which was cheered by the GOP for its smaller government vision, is certain to be rejected by the Senate.

22 Mar 2012

Ryan budget plan would revamp Medicare, Medicaid

The blueprint is an election-year marker that envisions a smaller government and deep cuts to entitlement and safety net programs. It has no chance of passage this year.

22 Mar 2012

Kansas Senate considers how to oversee Medicaid managed care plans

Gov. Sam Brownback's plan to move recipients into managed care has drawn controversy, even from fellow Republicans.

22 Mar 2012

Supreme Court braces for health law frenzy

The high court is scheduled to hear three days of oral arguments related to the legal challenges to the health law. Amid the expected media attention, political posturing and spin contests, interested parties are finalizing their arguments and strategies.

22 Mar 2012

House preps pre-SCOTUS IPAB repeal vote with eye on doc relationship

Republicans are not united in their attempted repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which will come up for a vote in the House this week. In the meantime, the GOP is attempting to mend fences with the American Medical Association by offsetting the cost of repeal with medical malpractice tort reforms.

22 Mar 2012

Some praise Rep. Ryan's budget plan as a bold approach; Others worry about 'dangerous' cuts to Medicare, the poor

A look at the initial editorials and opinions on the budget proposal released Tuesday by the House Budget Committee chairman.

22 Mar 2012

Health law oral arguments: Analyzing the moving parts

News reports explore the constitutional questions to be explored in the high court's review of the health law and the most likely potential outcomes.

21 Mar 2012

New Ryan budget would transform Medicare and Medicaid

Kaiser Health News staff writer Marilyn Werber Serafini reports: The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee surprised no one Tuesday when he released a spending blueprint that would drastically reshape the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the elderly and poor in an attempt to rein in their soaring costs.

21 Mar 2012

Roundup: States face new revenue downturn; Calif. county has disparities in life expectancy

Revenues in most U.S. states increased in the fourth quarter of 2011, but their recent surge is tapering off, as they grew just 2.7 percent from the final quarter of 2010, according to a report released on Monday. "This is a noticeable slowdown from the 11.1 (percent) and 6.1 percent year-over-year growth reported in the second and third quarters of 2011, respectively," the Rockefeller Institute, a think tank that closely watches states' revenues, said in the report.

21 Mar 2012

Marking the health law's second anniversary

News outlets report on what the future holds as the health law turns 2. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services steps up its messaging related to the measure's benefits.

21 Mar 2012

House GOP to propose budget with significant tax code changes; Dems ready to take on its efforts to reshape Medicare

News report suggest that the budget plan being unveiled today by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will cut tax rates sharply. But Democrats opposed to its expected overhaul of Medicare are already lining up.

21 Mar 2012

WESTMED collaborates with UnitedHealthcare to launch ACO

WESTMED Medical Group announced it is collaborating with the UnitedHealthcare and Optum businesses of UnitedHealth Group to launch an accountable care organization (ACO) for its more than 220 physicians in Westchester County, N.Y.

21 Mar 2012

FPS acquires Psych Support

Family Preservation Services (FPS) of North Carolina, Inc., a leading provider of mental health services for at-risk and disadvantaged youth and adults with severe and persistent mental illness, today announced it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Psych Support Inc., a Raleigh-based Critical Access Behavioral Health Agency.

21 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Rep. Ryan on his budget plan; Obama's contraceptive mandate could hurt McCaskill in tight Missouri race

On the critical issues of health security and tax reform, our budget draws a clear distinction between serious reformers and those who stand in the way of the growing bipartisan consensus for principled solutions. Our budget's Medicare reforms make no changes for those in or near retirement. For those who will retire a decade from now, our plan provides guaranteed coverage options financed by a premium-support payment. And this year, our budget adds even more choices for seniors, including a traditional fee-for-service Medicare option.

21 Mar 2012

FDA approves Watson's generic BONIVA ANDA to treat osteoporosis in women

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Watson Laboratories, Inc. has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Ibandronate 150mg tablets, the generic equivalent to Roche's BONIVA tablets.

21 Mar 2012

Texas files lawsuit over federal defunding of Women's Health Program

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed the suit Friday, saying that the federal government improperly decided to stop funding the state's Women's Health Program.

20 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: The argument for the health law; No one wins contraception battle

It's said that you can judge a man by the quality of his enemies. If the same principle applies to legislation, the Affordable Care Act - which was signed into law two years ago, but for the most part has yet to take effect - sits in a place of high honor.

20 Mar 2012

Medicaid expansion rule focuses on enrollment process

The Obama administration released a rule Friday detailing the specifics of this coverage expansion and trying to simplify the enrollment process.

20 Mar 2012

Boston Scientific lauds private insurance reimbursement coverage for bronchial thermoplasty

Boston Scientific Corporation welcomes a milestone in private insurance reimbursement coverage for bronchial thermoplasty (BT) performed using the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System. Minnesota-based HealthPartners and Michigan-based Priority Health recently issued the first public postings of positive insurance coverage policies providing their respective memberships with reimbursement for this novel procedure to treat severe asthma.

19 Mar 2012

N.Y. to ease Medicaid audits as Fla. pushes hard to cut program's costs

The N.Y. audits have been successful in recouping funds but have created an industry backlash. Florida, at the heart of the lawsuit against the federal health law that will expand Medicaid, is trying hard to get approval from the Obama administration to revamp its program.

19 Mar 2012