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.

BMC develops EHR-based screener to address patients' unmet social needs

Boston Medical Center has implemented a social determinants of health screener for primary care patients in order to better identify and address patients' unmet social needs.

18 May 2019

‘Sham’ sharing ministries test faith of patients and insurance regulators

Sheri Lewis, 59, of Seattle, needed a hip transplant. Bradley Fuller, 63, of nearby Kirkland, needed chemotherapy and radiation when the pain in his jaw turned out to be throat cancer. And Kim Bruzas, 55, of Waitsburg, hundreds of miles away, needed emergency care to stop sudden —and severe — rectal bleeding.

17 May 2019

As ER wait times grow, more patients leave against medical advice

Emergency room patients increasingly leave California hospitals against medical advice, and experts say crowded ERs are likely to blame.

17 May 2019

How to find and use new federal ratings for rehab services at nursing homes

For the first time, the federal government is shining a spotlight on the quality of rehabilitation care at nursing homes — services used by nearly 2 million older adults each year.

16 May 2019

Exploring the contributions of health care to longevity

A widely cited statistic suggests that health care services account for only a small percentage of the variation in American life expectancy. However, the methodology supporting the finding has been challenged.

15 May 2019

Study finds persistently high rate of long-term opioid prescribing for older cancer survivors

Using Medicare data, new findings from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston show for the first time that the rates of long term opiate therapy - a 90-day or more supply of opioids per year - for older cancer survivors remain high for at least five years in cancer survivors.

14 May 2019

Dealing with hospital closure, pioneer Kansas town asks: What comes next?

A slight drizzle had begun in the gray December sky outside Community Christian Church as Reta Baker, president of the local hospital, stepped through the doors to join a weekly morning coffee organized by Fort Scott's chamber of commerce.

14 May 2019

Newsom changes course on plan to pay for immigrant health coverage

Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration Friday reversed course on his plan to divert public health dollars from several counties to help provide health coverage to young adults who are in the country illegally.

13 May 2019

How Obamacare, Medicare and ‘Medicare for All’ muddy the campaign trail

The health care debate has Democrats on Capitol Hill and the presidential campaign trail facing renewed pressure to make clear where they stand: Are they for "Medicare for All"? Or will they take up the push to protect the Affordable Care Act?

13 May 2019

First milk expression within 8 hours related to lactation success for very low-birth-weight infants

A study led by physician researchers at Boston Medical Center has shown that first milk expression within eight hours of giving birth is associated with the highest probability of mothers of very low-birth-weight infants being able to provide milk throughout hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit.

10 May 2019

Opioid overdose found to be most common cause of pregnancy-associated death in new moms

As the opioid epidemic rages on, one vulnerable group--new moms--have often been overlooked.

9 May 2019

Addiction medicine mostly prescribed to whites, even as opioid deaths rose among blacks

White drug users addicted to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids have had near-exclusive access to buprenorphine, a drug that curbs the craving for opioids and reduces the chance of a fatal overdose.

8 May 2019

A plan to cover immigrants would divert public health dollars

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to provide health coverage to low-income young adults who are in the country illegally, but his plan would siphon public health dollars from several counties battling surging rates of sexually transmitted diseases and, in some cases, measles outbreaks.

8 May 2019

Patients of Medicare providers excluded for fraud and abuse more likely to be minorities, disabled

A new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health analyzed providers excluded from Medicare for fraud and abuse, and found that the patients they treated prior to being banned were more likely to be minorities, disabled and dually-enrolled in Medicaid to supplement financial assistance for health care.

7 May 2019

Study: Few patients at high risk of opioid overdose receive naloxone prescriptions

A study based on a national database of private insurance claims suggests few patients at high risk of opioid overdose receive prescriptions for naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, during encounters with the health care system from hospitalizations and emergency department visits to physician visits.

3 May 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Bye-bye, ACA, and hello ‘Medicare-for-all’?

The Department of Justice on Wednesday submitted a brief to a federal appeals court making its case as to why the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down in the wake of the congressional repeal of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance.

2 May 2019

CBO’s report on single-payer health care holds more questions than answers

Progressive Democrats have rallied around "Medicare-for-all," a single-payer health plan popularized by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Now, some of Washington's official bean counters are trying to add a new framework around what it might look like. The picture they offer highlights just how complicated that shift might be.

1 May 2019

Low-income patients at increased risk of catastrophic amputation after knee joint replacement

Above-knee amputation is a rare but severe complication of deep infection after knee replacement surgery.

30 Apr 2019

SLU study suggests a more equitable way for Medicare reimbursement

Those who were enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid were sicker, had more cognitive impairments and difficulty functioning, and needed more social support than those who were not enrolled in both government programs, Saint Louis University research found.

30 Apr 2019

Adoption of new rules drops readmission penalties against safety net hospitals

Readmission penalties against hospitals providing care to socioeconomically disadvantaged patients have dropped 14 percentage points under new rules adopted in 2019 that more equitably account for low-income populations being served, according to a new analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center and Harvard researchers.

30 Apr 2019