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.

First Edition: March 25, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about mini-med plans and accountable care organizations as well as the ongoing impasse in Congress regarding current year spending.

28 Mar 2011

McDonnell calls for quick review by Supreme Court of health law

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell lashed out at the federal health law while giving the Republicans' weekly address Saturday.

28 Mar 2011

GOP looks to reshape Medicaid; Democrats question HHS stance on cuts

Republicans are gearing up to make suggested changes to the Medicaid system, one GOP lawmaker reports. At the same time, some congressional Democrats are unhappy with the administration's efforts to help states find trims in the program.

28 Mar 2011

Research Roundup: Parents' knowledge of kids' coverage

Based on analyses of the Food Stamp Program and Oregon Health Plan (the state's combined Medicaid-CHIP program) databases and a statewide survey of families, the authors report that more than 20 percent of parents whose children were not enrolled reported that they were, while more than 11 percent who had children in the OHP program reported their kids were not covered:

25 Mar 2011

Lawmakers continue to tussle over short- and long-term budget issues

Momentum appears to building for efforts to address record budget deficits by reining in spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, as both parties agree they need to reach a deal to provide funding to keep the government functioning in the the current year, legislative riders that would impose restrictions on federal agencies and cut off funding for Planned Parenthood continue to trip up their progress.

25 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Deconstructing a $65,515 bill; 'Puzzling' health reform; Good news on America's health

Susan Kovinsky underwent outpatient surgery recently at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The procedure, a hysterectomy, began at 10:40 a.m. By 3 p.m., she was on her way home.

25 Mar 2011

State News: Study highlights problems in Mass. Connector

Los Angeles officials Thursday unveiled what Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa termed a landmark tentative labor agreement that would greatly increase healthcare and pension contributions for thousands of municipal workers and put an end to some furloughs caused by the city's budget crisis.

25 Mar 2011

N.Y., Fla. lawmakers consider Med-Mal damage caps

In New York, the issue is among the most contentious and is tied to the state's budget, which must be completed by April 1. In Florida, the measure approved by the state's appropriation's panel is matched by a similar version moving in the Senate. Both are part of an effort to overhaul Florida's Medicaid program.

25 Mar 2011

Fraud updates sought by top Senate Finance members

Top members of the Senate Finance Committee have asked the Obama administration for frequent progress reports on its work to cut down on fraud and abuse in health programs.

25 Mar 2011

First Edition: March 25, 2011

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, John Goodman writes: "As governors across the land struggle with fiscal pressures and pepper the federal government with requests to scale back Medicaid - many people are losing sight of the fact that health care reform requires a huge expansion of Medicaid".

25 Mar 2011

State-level action, reactions coincide with health law anniversary

Party politics appear to be a key determinant in how states and state-level officials are reacting to the measure's implementation.

25 Mar 2011

P&G, Teva sign partnership agreement for consumer health care

The Procter & Gamble Company and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced the signing of a master agreement to create a partnership in consumer health care by bringing together both companies' existing over-the-counter medicines and complementary capabilities to accelerate growth.

25 Mar 2011

Medical experts: Nation needs to offer more confidential care for sexually active teens

After reviewing existing research regarding the common practices of health care providers who see adolescent patients across the country, Rebecca Allen, MD, MPH, a clinician and researcher at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, and her colleague, Michelle Forcier, MD, MPH, an adolescent medicine specialist at Hasbro Children's Hospital, asserted that the nation needs to offer more confidential care for teenagers who are sexually active.

25 Mar 2011

State roundup: Vt. closer to single payer plan

After a full day and evening of debate, the Vermont House gave preliminary approval to health care reform legislation that's designed to put the state on the path toward a single payer system. ... The heart of the bill is the creation of a five person Health Care Board, modeled after the Public Service Board, which will oversee virtually every aspect of health care in the state.

25 Mar 2011

Affymax, Takeda's peginesatide Phase 3 data in dialysis patient to be presented at NKF meeting

Affymax, Inc. and Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., U.S., today announced multiple posters on peginesatide have been accepted for presentation at the National Kidney Foundation 2011 Spring Clinical Meeting taking place April 26-30, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

24 Mar 2011

Most clinicians feel systems and procedures for preventing hospital readmissions ineffective

More than nine out of ten clinicians believe that reducing readmissions is an important topic, but few have the resources at hand to tackle it, according to a new study from QuantiaMD®, the leading mobile and online physician community, and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).

24 Mar 2011

At one-year mark, political players draw lines in the sand

Politico reports on how Democrats, who find themselves under siege, are not getting as much help as they expected from big name health overhaul supporters. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers and presidential hopefuls are using this landmark day to make clear their opposition.

24 Mar 2011

Kentucky, Minn., Florida, Texas facing tough Medicaid, budget decisions

Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky has given lawmakers less than two weeks to approve his plan to come up with $165 million for Medicaid or he'll cut payments. The first-term Democrat, who took office in January 2008, faces a local variation on a problem vexing governors across the U.S.: when Kentucky lawmakers approved an $18 billion biennial budget last year, they overestimated federal Medicaid funding.

24 Mar 2011

CAGW expresses continued opposition to Obamacare and its wasteful spending

Today, on the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Citizens Against Government Waste expressed its continued opposition to the legislation and the U.S. government's wasteful spending.

24 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Boehner, Mcconnell, Thune, major new organizations opine on health law

We now know that lawmakers who promised that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan" were wrong. The president likes to say Americans aren't interested in revisiting the debates of the past. No one would accept an answer like that from an electronics store manager who refused to offer a refund on a defective television.

24 Mar 2011