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.

Finance Committee seeks to trim cost of bill

"A draft proposal in the Senate to overhaul the nation's health-care system would require most people to buy health insurance, authorize an expansion of Medicaid coverage and create consumer-owned cooperative plans instead of the government coverage that President Obama is seeking," the Washington Post reports.

21 Jun 2009

Bartering for health care is on the rise as the recession drags on

CNN reports that bartering is booming and that "business owners with an eye toward cutting costs are increasingly viewing bartering as a viable option for obtaining medical services for themselves and their employees."

21 Jun 2009

Texas "medical home" provides personal and coordinated health care

The Houston Chronicle reports on a medical philosophy that focuses on providing coordinated care and personal care to older patients, mostly indigent seniors. The paper examines Select Senior Clinic, a Texas facility that ascribes to the medical home concept.

21 Jun 2009

Doctors cautiously signal they'll work with Obama

The American Medical Association voted yesterday to support "health reform alternatives that are consistent with AMA principles," although the group fell short of specifically supporting a public plan, the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

Prosposed budget cuts worry hospitals

The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires reports on reaction to the Obama administration's proposed cuts that may acutely affect hospitals. It notes: "President Obama last weekend called for $313 billion in savings over 10 years through adjustments in Medicare and Medicaid payments - a plan that a 'deeply disappointed' American Hospital Association said would mean $220 billion in payment cuts to hospitals, on top of billions in other proposed Medicare cuts."

18 Jun 2009

Former Senate majority leaders outline health care compromise

Three former Senate majority leaders unveiled a health care reform plan Wednesday that would tax health benefits with value over what members of Congress are given and would mandate that both employers and individuals carry insurance, Kaiser Health News reports.

18 Jun 2009

Timeline for health legislation slips as HELP, Finance Committees hit snags

Senators delayed work Wednesday on one health care reform bill and hit partisan roadblocks on another as key lawmakers insisted they are still on track to have a bill on the floor by the middle of summer, The Washington Post reports.

18 Jun 2009

Health reform: The reality show

The health care reform discussion is beginning-at last!-to get real. On June 9, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a draft bill, and the Congressional Budget Office published an estimate that the bill would cost $1 trillion over 10 years and leave 35 million uninsured.

18 Jun 2009

Former Senators unveil bipartisan health proposal, would tax benefits, mandate coverage

Three former Senate majority leaders today unveiled a bipartisan health care reform package that would tax health benefits and includes individual and employer mandates.

18 Jun 2009

House GOP leadership outlines bill, responds to Senate Democrats struggle to keep costs down

Politico reports that "while Senate Democrats marked up a $1 trillion health care package Wednesday morning, House Republicans unveiled an outline of their own plan."

18 Jun 2009

Senate Health Committee to begin reform mark up today, finance to follow next week

Senate Democrats are scrambling to reduce the price tag of reform proposals, which initial estimates place at $1.6 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reports.

18 Jun 2009

Obama administration faces increasing challenges to health reform

The Obama administration is facing increasing opposition to various aspects of health reform proposals - especially the idea of a "public plan."

18 Jun 2009

Recession and budget cuts hit children especially hard

As the recession forces more hospitals and doctors to pare costs and services, children are being especially hard hit.

18 Jun 2009

Case study: Paying for health care in a recession

NPR reports on the health care struggles of Howard County, Maryland, a well-off and generally liberal area with hospital fees set by the state and a county program for the uninsured. "But like the rest the country, Howard County is facing the impact of the recession: Employers have to cut back on benefits, so employees cut back on their coverage."

17 Jun 2009

Parents ask lawmakers to keep kids in mind during reform debate

A group of 50 families will ask lawmakers this week to keep in mind 9 million uninsured children and many more who are underinsured when they undertake health reform this summer, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

17 Jun 2009

New Medicare rules on oxygen suppliers worry patients

Complex new Medicare rules that seek to cut costs of home-oxygen therapy are confusing the more than one million people who rely on the federal insurer to pay for the coverage.

17 Jun 2009

CBO: Proposal would pound budget, dent number of uninsured

The Congressional Budget Office has found that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's health reform proposal would cost taxpayers about $1 trillion over the next decade and only insure 16 million people, about one-third of uninsured Americans, Politico reports.

17 Jun 2009

Obama takes public plan case to doctors, push-back continues

President Barack Obama told the American Medical Association Monday that a health care fix can't wait, The New York Times reports.

17 Jun 2009

Bartering for health care rises

With no health insurance and little money, Gilberto Carrasco, a Reno, Nev., auto mechanic, didn't see much point in getting a physical. At 50, he felt healthy and couldn't afford treatment even if a doctor found a medical problem.

17 Jun 2009

HIV Medicine Association supports public plan option to ensure patients' needs are met

As Congress drafts health care reform legislation, HIV clinicians urge lawmakers to include a public plan option to ensure affordable access to comprehensive care for HIV patients - nearly 30 percent of whom have no insurance. The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) believes that a public plan option can help offer everyone the chance to benefit from early and reliable access to lifesaving HIV care and treatment.

16 Jun 2009