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.

MHA's annual awards recognize outstanding health care leaders, innovative programs

Innovative programs and outstanding leaders in health care were honored Friday, May 6 at the Minnesota Hospital Association's 27th annual awards ceremony at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Minneapolis.

10 May 2011

Health Net achieves reaccreditation from URAC

Health Net Federal Services, LLC, part of the Government Contracts segment of Health Net, Inc., announced today it has been awarded full Health Network Reaccreditation, effective July 1, 2011 - July 1, 2014, from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

10 May 2011

When Government usurps responsibility, people are more likely to abdicate

We hear much talk about preventive care, but nobody has defined it. From the content of the discussions, I deduce that what the health bureaucrats actually refer to would be better characterized as “early detection.” Early detection is what occurs when a physician finds a disease in its early stages that might have been prevented by earlier measures. But who can take those measures? Not the physician, only the patient. There is only one person living the patient’s life; it is the patient. I cannot live his life for him.

9 May 2011

IASIS Healthcare second quarter net revenue increases 8.6% to $678.4 million

IASIS Healthcare® LLC today announced financial and operating results for the fiscal second quarter and six months ended March 31, 2011.

9 May 2011

RWJF offers health law implementation assistance to states

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will offer states assistance in implementing elements of the health law that involve expanding access to the uninsured.

9 May 2011

Will the GOP now set its sights on Medicaid?

With major changes to Medicare likely on hold for the time being, advocates say the GOP has Medicaid "in its sights" as a more realistic place to make health care cuts.

9 May 2011

State roundup: Concerns about state employee retirement boom

Plummeting stock portfolios and home values prompted many Baby Boomers to keep working long after retirement age. ... "What was once a planned exit is no longer a planned exit," says Daniel Hackler, Indiana's state personnel director.

9 May 2011

Massachusetts patients face long wait times for doctor appointments

A survey conducted by the Massachusetts Medical Society found patients can wait as a long as a month and a half for non-urgent physicians' appointments.

9 May 2011

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for advanced wound care

The Premier healthcare alliance announced today that new agreements for advanced wound care have been awarded.

9 May 2011

Confusion surrounds Medicare proposals, budget plan debate

News outlets report on the fits and starts of the ongoing budget deficit talks, including how plans for Medicare's future are faring and how politics are heating up — both in Washington and in a special congressional election beyond the Beltway.

9 May 2011

Centene's AHCCCS receives Bridgeway contract to deliver Arizona Long Term Care System services

Centene Corporation was notified that the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System has awarded Bridgeway Health Solutions, Centene's Arizona subsidiary, contracts to deliver Arizona Long Term Care System services.

9 May 2011

CMS outlines two different ways to revise Medicare payment system for skilled nursing care

In conjunction with a hearing today before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce in which Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified about the "Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services," the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care underscored the importance of provider - Department collaboration in recalibrating the recently implemented Medicare payment system for skilled nursing facility care.

9 May 2011

GOP Medicare proposal keeps roiling Washington politics

Six months after Republicans swept the midterm election by promising bold solutions to fiscal woes, they continue to struggle to find a unified voice on key issues and to overcome persistent divisions within the party.

9 May 2011

Florida, Vermont, Hawaii, Maine make sweeping health care changes

As some state legislative sessions begin drawing to a close, news outlets report on major changes in health care. Florida is overhauling its Medicaid program, Vermont passed a modified "single payer" bill, Hawaii is trying a "medical home" model and the Maine legislature has a new approach to insurance sales in the state.

9 May 2011

IPAB claims a friend within the GOP

During a break in a Thursday House subcommittee hearing on elements of the health law, Mark McClellan offered positive views of IPAB. Also during the hearing, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius commented on how the reform law assists entitlement reform and gave her views on the measure's pre-existing condition program.

7 May 2011

In effort to find common ground on budget talks, GOP Medicare message becomes mixed

With the debt-ceiling looming and other divisive budget issues on the table, some Republican lawmakers appeared to back away from their plan to "voucherize" Medicare.

7 May 2011

Virginia communities applaud signing of autism insurance reform into law

This afternoon, the Virginia Autism Project joined families and communities in Virginia in applauding Governor Robert McDonnell in signing House Bill 2467 and Senate Bill 1062, which will become law effective January 1, 2012.

7 May 2011

Research roundup: Racial disparities in cancer screening and VA treatment

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Colorectal Cancer Screening Persisted Despite Expansion Of Medicare's Screening Reimbursement. This study looked at the effect in minority groups of expanded reimbursements by Medicare for colorectal cancer screenings.

7 May 2011

Roundup: Fla. lawmakers to vote today on Medicaid changes; Calif. court expands deadline for tobacco suits

With a sponsor calling it the "most significant transformational change" since Florida's Medicaid program started, lawmakers will vote Friday on a long-awaited proposal to shift almost all beneficiaries into managed-care plans.

7 May 2011

Viewpoints: Will GOP back away from Medicaid plan too?; exchanges geared to politics, not health

All but seven House Republicans voted for a budget plan last month that would eliminate Medicare's guarantee to the elderly. It was always bad policy. But now that the vote has proved to be wildly unpopular, the party is suddenly running in the opposite direction.

7 May 2011