Colo. dispute over Medicaid patient 'shared responsibility' simmers and other state Medicaid news

States are facing Medicaid budget, lawsuit and ER pressures in Colorado, Utah and Louisiana.

Denver Post: Medicaid Dispute Pits 'Shared Responsibility,' Care Of Poor
Colorado policymakers are wrestling to bring the burgeoning Medicaid budget under control, as critics fear health insurance for the poor will consume the state budget. But even the smallest cuts or cost-shares raise protests from patient advocates and objections that such measures will prove more expensive in the long run. "Sharing responsibility" by raising co-pays and enrollment fees for public health care actually discourages patients from seeking care until they require budget-busting emergency or specialty help, researchers say (Booth, 1/29).

Modern Healthcare: Iasis Sues Utah Medicaid Oversight Office
In a petition for "extraordinary relief," Iasis Healthcare Corp. has sued the Utah Medicaid inspector general's office, saying that the regulator does not have state-law authority to enforce a $2.7 million recoupment order that Iasis maintains was erroneous anyway. The lawsuit filed in Salt Lake City's the 3rd District Court asks a state judge to declare that the office of inspector does not have the authority to recoup alleged overpayments to three Iasis hospitals, or to establish an administrative review process designed for appealing the finding (Carlson, 1/28).

The (Shreveport, La.) Times:  Without Dental Coverage, Patients Seek Pain Relief In ER
Louisiana spent $1.7 million on Medicaid patients who visited statewide emergency rooms seeking pain relief from toothaches during fiscal year 2010-11. The year before, the state paid $1.66 million for the same reason, according to Department of Health and Hospitals data. Those hospital visits didn't solve the problem (Bath, 1/28).