Medicaid News and Research

RSS

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.

Viewpoints: Conservatives still reeling from DC Circuit ruling on health law; Minn. lawmaker upsets plans for federal grants

"President Ronald Reagan must be spinning in his grave," exclaimed Maureen Martin of the Heartland Institute. A "Lazy Endorsement of Obamacare," read the headline on an article on National Review Online.

11 Nov 2011

Health law alphabet soup: ACOs, MLR and other implementation news

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the application for its shared savings program, and Health News Florida reports which of that state's providers will likely throw their hats into the ring.

11 Nov 2011

Medicaid directors ask Feds for more flexibility

State Medicaid directors are asking the federal government to fast-track state Medicaid improvements by emphasizing health over bureaucratic process and rapidly disseminating best practices so that states can benefit from the success of others.

11 Nov 2011

First Edition: Nov. 11, 2011

In today's health policy headlines, reports about the challenges the super committee continues to confront as the clock ticks toward its deadline, as well as news about the Supreme Court's expected announcement on whether it will hear health law appeals.

11 Nov 2011

NAMI report: States cut mental health budgets just as demand goes up

Modest increases in some states' mental health budgets have done little to erase massive cuts nationwide over the past three years and a reduction in Medicaid funds, according to a report to be released Thursday by the nation's largest mental health advocacy group. All told, the Washington-based National Alliance on Mental Illness found, 28 states and the District of Columbia have cut nearly $1.7 billion from their mental health budgets since the 2009 fiscal year.

11 Nov 2011

State dual eligible proposals don't focus on managed care for Medicare beneficiaries

States proposing demonstration projects to more effectively care for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid enrollees have not suggested requiring Medicare patients to enroll in managed care plans, Cindy Mann, the federal official in charge of Medicaid, told state directors on Wednesday.

11 Nov 2011

Deficit panel at impasse despite offers

The Democrats outlined a new "tax trigger" as a means to overhaul the tax code. Meanwhile, news outlets reports that the two sides have largely agreed to a broad outline of spending reductions, including to Medicare and other domestic programs, but Democrats will agree to such cuts only if Republicans compromise by putting new tax revenues on the table.

11 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: The role of IT in transforming health care; the GOP raises super committee stakes

Why can't Americans tap into the ingenuity that put men on the moon, created the Internet and sequenced the human genome to revitalize our economy? I'm convinced we can. We are in the early phases of the next big technology-driven revolution, which I call "consumer health." When fully unleashed, it could radically cut health care costs and become a huge global growth market.

11 Nov 2011

Watson receives FDA approval for generic Kadian ANDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for morphine sulfate extended-release capsules USP, the generic equivalent of Actavis' Kadian.

11 Nov 2011

Novartis files suit against Watson over generic Exelon

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market rivastigmine transdermal system patches, 4.6 mg/24 hr and 9.5 mg/24 hr.

11 Nov 2011

State roundup: Storms' huge impact on health care; Brooklyn's hospital quest; Calif. election results

Only a few private hospitals have survived in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and Bushwick to serve poor patients like them. Now all are in such dire financial shape that a small group of veteran health care planners appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is debating last-ditch measures to save them.

10 Nov 2011

Super committee: GOP offers tax deal, Democrats dismiss it

Republicans said Tuesday that they might allow $250 billion to $300 billion of additional tax revenue as part of a deal to shave $1.2 trillion from federal deficits over the next 10 years. Democrats, though, did not seem to view the plan as a major concession.

10 Nov 2011

Massachusetts seniors and workers rally against cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

From the packed Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston, Sue Rummel of Danvers exclaimed, "I can't afford any cuts to my benefits!" The 64-year-old AARP member who is self-employed and still working, added her voice to thousands of others saying, "Stop the Cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid!"

10 Nov 2011

States cope with health law's MLR, insurance exchange requirements

Georgia was granted some delay in the law's MLR requirements, and in Tennessee and Minnesota, insurance exchange decisions are slowly being made.

10 Nov 2011

New poverty figures show large increase in number of poor older Americans nationwide

New poverty figures released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau show a large increase in the number of poor Americans nationwide, specifically older adults.

10 Nov 2011

State roundup: Alaska's dental problem; some Minn. health funding blocked

The need for dental care in rural Alaska is huge. According to a recent CDC report, the rate of cavities among rural Alaska Native children is four and a half times greater than the general population of U.S. children of the same age. ... But it's important to note the dental therapist program in Alaska is not without controversy.

10 Nov 2011

Kansas Gov. announces revamping of Medicaid

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced a major overhaul of the state's Medicaid program today, which would put nearly all Medicaid recipients into private, managed-care plans. While low-income families are currently in such plans, elderly and disabled Kansans receive care through a fee-for-service system.

10 Nov 2011

Senators launch billion-dollar health scam investigation

Also in the news from Capitol Hill, the Senate appears poised to fix the Medicaid glitch that allowed middle-income couples to qualify for Medicaid, and a bill to repeal the health law runs afoul of some conservatives.

10 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Romney's critical missing information on Medicare; anti-smoking messages too graphic

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney conveniently left out key facts when he ripped a new health care cost-control measure - the Independent Payment Advisory Board. . The Affordable Care Act also specifically limits the board's powers. It cannot ration care, reduce benefits, raise premiums or other cost-sharing such as copays. As part of that, it cannot raise Medicare's eligibility age, as Romney himself has proposed.

10 Nov 2011

Ventas to receive $125 million as lawsuit settlement from HCP

Ventas, Inc. today announced that HCP, Inc. has agreed to pay it $125 million to settle the Company's outstanding lawsuit against HCP arising out of the Company's 2007 acquisition of Sunrise Senior Living REIT.

9 Nov 2011