N.C. budget includes additional funds for Medicaid; KanCare plan triggers nerves

Medicaid spending and revamp plans being advanced in various states are drawing headlines and public scrutiny.

North Carolina Health News:  Medicaid Fixes Dominate Healthcare In General Assembly Budget
House and Senate negotiators at the General Assembly announced an agreement Wednesday morning for a $20.2 billion overall state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. ... The budget will include additional dollars for Medicaid, no compensation for eugenics victims and deep cuts to prevention programs (Hoban, 6/20).

Kansas Health Institute News:  KanCare Plan Panned Again At Public Hearing
Top health officials from the administration of Gov. Sam Brownback today tried to reassure nervous members of the Kansas public that the Medicaid makeover plan they hope to launch Jan. 1 is a good idea and that problems seen in other states that have expanded managed care would be avoided here. ... The governor's plan, if implemented, would move the balance of the state's Medicaid population into fixed-cost managed care programs divided statewide among three companies. About 70 percent of the state's Medicaid population already is in managed care plans. KanCare would move the remainder into a system that would be similar to the current one but also different because it would improve health outcomes and lower costs thanks to a new emphasis on coordinated care, the officials said (Shields, 6/21).

CT Mirror:  DSS Concedes Eligible Low-Income Residents May Be Losing Health Care
The department is facing a huge backload of paperwork, the result in part of an antiquated computer system, fewer employees and an ever-higher caseload. ... Each month, DSS sends about 40,000 people a form to fill out and send back so the department can determine if they remain eligible for government-funded health care. .... [Lawyer Sheldon Toubman] said thousands of eligible low-income and disabled Connecticut residents are losing their benefits each month because of the backlog of paperwork the agency faces (Thomas, 6/20).