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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.

Medicaid expansion will be key part of Supreme Court's health law consideration

The high court's announcement that it would review the law was not a surprise, but the specific issues it will examine have triggered some shockwaves. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court attention to the health law also has moved the issue of the overhaul back to the forefront of many campaigns.

18 Nov 2011

Medicaid officials struggle with surge in long-term care needs

The company's naming of David J. McNichols comes as a consulting firm for the state is evaluating the current system of delivering care to Medicaid and PeachCare beneficiaries in Georgia. WellCare has part of that multibillion-dollar business, along with two other managed care companies. The state pays the three firms a total of more than $2.5 billion a year to serve the Medicaid and PeachCare populations.

18 Nov 2011

CMS delays Florida MLR decision; Conn. exchange board under fire

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials have given themselves 30 more days to decide on Florida's request to slow the phase-in of a requirement that insurers spend a minimum of 80 percent of each premium dollar on expenses related to improving the quality of health care.

18 Nov 2011

Outside groups launch TV ads warning about Medicare cuts

Americans United for Change, AFSCME, SEIU and MoveOn.org are among the groups targeting GOP lawmakers regarding proposals to cut Medicare. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is striking back with ads of its own warning about government-run health care.

18 Nov 2011

Debt panel deliberations involve gloom, doom and blame

As indications continue to suggest the super committee stalemate continues, the panel members and other lawmakers are pointing fingers and assigning blame. Health programs -- including Medicare -- continue to be a sticking point. News outlets also examine how the threatened cuts that would kick in if the panel doesn't find success would impact the health sector.

18 Nov 2011

Longer looks: The Supreme Court and health law politics; Obama and drug shortages

There are eighty-two Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide, operating nearly eight hundred clinics. Planned Parenthood says that one in five women in the U.S. has been treated at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Critics of Planned Parenthood, who are engaged in a sustained attack on the organization, say that most of those women are going to the clinics to have abortions, paid for, in violation of the Hyde Amendment, with taxpayer money.

18 Nov 2011

State roundup: Calif. cuts make public health outlook bleak

One thing Gov. Mitch Daniels believes with absolute conviction is that consumers need to pay more of the cost of their health care. ... No one can say Daniels isn't practicing what he preaches. Indiana has been using a version of consumer-driven health care for state employees since 2006. Starting next year, 90 percent of Indiana state workers will be covered by a consumer-driven plan with low premiums and high out-of-pocket expenses for actual care.

18 Nov 2011

House gives nod to correcting Medicaid 'glitch'

The House easily gave final approval to a rare revision to the health care reform law Wednesday - and what's even rarer is that it's flown under the radar all week. Following the Senate's unanimous vote last week, the House voted 422-0 to undo a health care reform provision that would have allowed some middle-class individuals to qualify for Medicaid.

17 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Paul Starr on Obama, Romney and health reform; Glenn close on the need for mental health services

As we testified on Nov. 1 before the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the principal driver of long-term federal deficits is the rapidly mounting cost of healthcare, particularly Medicare. ... Solving the U.S. debt crisis requires structural changes to slow Medicare's cost growth plus significant new revenue to accommodate the retirement of the baby boomers. Any plan without those two essential components should go back to the drawing board.

17 Nov 2011

American College of Physicians support framework to repeal the SGR formula

The 132,000 Internal medicine physician and medical student members of the American College of Physicians applaud Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) for urging the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to include broad reforms based on her MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT INNOVATION ACT.

17 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 17, 2011

In today's headlines, reports that the Supreme Court's review of the health law shocks Medicaid advocates and more on the continuing struggles of the super committee.

17 Nov 2011

Complications from preventable surgical-site infections leading to hospital readmissions after colon surgery

Nearly one-quarter of privately insured colon surgery patients are readmitted to the hospital within three months of discharge at a cost of roughly $9,000 per readmission, according to Johns Hopkins researchers, who've identified a major area for quality improvement and cost reduction in health care.

17 Nov 2011

Kentucky Circuit Court rules in favor of Watson in drug pricing litigation

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that a jury in the drug pricing litigation trial in the Kentucky Circuit Court for Franklin County rendered a verdict in favor of Watson on all counts in the litigation.

17 Nov 2011

Improper payments reduced by $17.6 billion, White House says

This cut in wasteful or improper payments in social welfare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, applies to the year ending Sept. 30.

17 Nov 2011

Facing pressure from all sides, deficit panel keeps hands off health law

The sweeping 2010 health law has stayed largely intact even as super committee members struggle to slash the nation's deficit. Meanwhile, the clock continues to tick down toward the deadline even as more proposals are being floated.

17 Nov 2011

Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increase by 50% from 2003 to 2010

Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increased by 50 percent from 2003 to 2010, and the annual amount that employees pay toward their insurance increased by 63 percent as businesses required employees to contribute a greater share, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report that examines state trends in health insurance costs.

17 Nov 2011

GOP hopefuls tied in Iowa poll

Fifty-eight percent of that poll's respondents said they would "rule out" a candidate who has favored a mandate to buy health insurance. In other news, a separate poll found 47 percent of Americans would support doing away with the health law. Meanwhile, protestors make their opinions known to Herman Cain and Mitt Romney.

17 Nov 2011

State roundup: Colorado uninsured/underinsured rate skyrockets; Georgia personhood resolution brewing

The Colorado Health Access Survey, a new report from The Colorado Trust and the Colorado Health Institute, has found that more than 1.5 million Coloradans – or nearly one in three residents – either have no health insurance or are underinsured, meaning they spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket medical expenses. Just since the last survey two years ago, the percentage of employers offering health insurance has dropped to 57.8 percent this year from 63.7.

16 Nov 2011

Grants up to $30 million for those with innovative ideas for healthcare

The Obama administration on Monday announced a $1 billion federal fund allocation for last year's health reform law to be channeled toward innovation programs designed to boost jobs and improve patient care.

16 Nov 2011

White House continues to push health care policies, sidestepping Congress

Using executive branch powers, the Obama administration has laid out new steps to cut fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, and announced that $1 billion of federal funding will go toward innovation programs designed to boost jobs and improve patient care. The president also offered comment on the super committee's progress.

16 Nov 2011