Ariz. delays Medicaid expansion decision, states make other health law implementation news

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer won't say until January if her state will expand Medicaid. In the meantime, advocates worry about whether health care for kids in Texas could be cut.

The Associated Press/Arizona Republic: Brewer Decision On Medicaid Expected In January
Gov. Jan Brewer apparently won't say until January whether Arizona should expand the state's Medicaid program under the federal health care overhaul. That's the word from Brewer administration officials who briefed reporters on Thursday about funding and policy considerations being weighed by the governor, her staff and agency officials (8/2).

Texas Tribune: Video: Texans Worry About CHIP Amid Health Care Overhaul
The Affordable Care Act requires states to maintain eligibility requirements for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program through 2019. But Gov. Rick Perry and the Republican Governors Association oppose the provision, and some families in Texas fear children's health care could be in jeopardy (Barnes, 8/2).

State implementation of exchanges, ones both to buy insurance and to store patient information, are also making news --

Georgia Health News: Mississippi Gets A Jump On Creating Exchanges
"Thank God for Mississippi." That phrase, when uttered by public health experts elsewhere in the South, is seldom a compliment. When contemplating the poor health statistics in their own states, they've been known to take some comfort that the Magnolia State fared worse. But when it comes to the issue of building a health insurance exchange, those comparisons are turned on their head. While other Southern, Republican-dominated states such as Georgia have put the idea of a health insurance exchange on hold -- or have dismissed it entirely, due to its connection to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- Mississippi has forged ahead in creating its own such online marketplace in 2014 (Miller, 8/2).

WBUR: State Wins $17M To Build New Health Care Portal A La Online Banking
WBUR's Martha Bebinger reports that Massachusetts has secured $17 million to begin building the country's first health care portal that will work much like online banking. The new Health Information Exchange is a program through which doctors, hospitals and labs can log in from any location to share notes, converse and post patient records. Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby says connecting a patients providers will save money and improve care (Zimmerman and Bebinger, 8/3).