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.

Medicare Advantage overbills taxpayers by billions a year as feds struggle to stop it

Health insurers that treat millions of seniors have overcharged Medicare by nearly $30 billion the past three years alone, but federal officials say they are moving ahead with long-delayed plans to recoup at least part of the money.

16 Jul 2019

Even when HIV prevention drug is covered, other costs block treatment

Three years ago, Corey Walsh, who was in a relationship with a man who was HIV-positive, got a prescription for Truvada, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent infection with the virus that causes AIDS.

15 Jul 2019

Patients taking opioids for chronic pain could face health care access problems

Finding a new doctor for health checkups and general care can pose a challenge to anyone. But for people who take prescription opioid pills for their chronic pain, it might be far harder, according to a new study.

14 Jul 2019

New network for children and youth with special health care needs seeks to improve systems of care

A new research network for children and youth with special health care needs, led by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Children's Hospital Colorado and Boston Children's Hospital, will lead, promote and coordinate national research activities to improve their systems of care.

12 Jul 2019

DOJ lawyers try new tricks to undo Obamacare. Will it work?

Once again, the fate of the Affordable Care Act is before the courts. The health law has traveled all the way to the Supreme Court (twice!) and is highly likely to make another visit.

12 Jul 2019

Prevalence of anal cancer precursors is higher in women living with HIV than previously reported

The prevalence of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), which precede anal cancer, is much higher in women living with HIV than previously reported, a multi-site, national study involving hundreds of patients has found.

12 Jul 2019

Listen: Young undocumented Californians cheer promise of health benefits

Medicaid provides health care to low-income people. And California is set to be the first state to offer it to immigrants younger than 26 living there without legal permission.

12 Jul 2019

Biden calling ACA ‘breakthrough’ for mental health parity highlights gaps

In a sit-down interview with CNN, 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden touted the Obama administration's passage of the Affordable Care Act, asserting that this law evened out the playing field when it came to insurance coverage of mental and physical health.

11 Jul 2019

Many patients remain uninsured after ACA implementation

In community health centers in Medicaid expansion states, among established patients who were uninsured prior to the Affordable Care Act, many remained uninsured after implementation of the Obama-era law.

11 Jul 2019

Using Obamacare authority, Trump aims to shift dialysis care to patients’ homes

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a bold plan to improve care to patients with kidney disease, which he claimed would save thousands of lives each year and billions of dollars for taxpayers.

10 Jul 2019

Medicare going in ‘right direction’ on opioid epidemic

Prescriptions for two drugs used to treat opioid addiction increased significantly from 2016 to 2018 for people on Medicare, according to a federal report out Wednesday.

10 Jul 2019

Subclinical cardiovascular disease linked to higher risk of falling in older adults

Each year, one out of three U.S. adults aged 65 years or older falls - and the number of deaths from falls is rising.

10 Jul 2019

How to get a cheaper prescription before leaving the doctor’s office

When Mary Kay Gilbert saw her doctor in May for a skin infection on her leg, she wasn't surprised to receive a prescription for an antibiotic cream.

10 Jul 2019

Medi-Cal enrollment among immigrant kids stalls, then falls. Is fear to blame?

As California prepares to expand Medicaid coverage to young adults living in the state illegally, the number of undocumented immigrant children in the program is slowly declining, new state data show.

9 Jul 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All about ‘Medicare for All’

We're doing something a little different this holiday week. Because "Medicare for All" is so much in the news, we're rerunning an earlier explainer episode.

2 Jul 2019

Study paints clear picture of the staffing levels of nurses at nursing homes

Researchers who analyzed payroll-based staffing data for U.S. nursing homes discovered large daily staffing fluctuations, low weekend staffing and daily staffing levels that often fall well below the expectations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, all of which can increase the risk of adverse events for residents.

2 Jul 2019

Concurrent use of benzodiazepine and opioids complicates neonatal abstinence syndrome

Babies born after being exposed to both opioids and benzodiazepines before birth are more likely to have severe drug withdrawal, requiring medications like morphine for treatment, compared to infants exposed to opioids alone, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in Hospital Pediatrics.

1 Jul 2019