Medicaid expansion and funding face threats in several states
Medicaid expansion and funding face serious political challenges in several Western and Great Plains states, following expansion ballot initiatives and legislative and gubernatorial elections in those states.
N.H. bipartisan panel approves Medicaid rules
A bipartisan legislative committee has now approved New Hampshire's proposed work requirements for Medicaid recipients, nearly two months after it first objected to Trump administration changes.
Medicare, Medicaid contain costs better than private insurers, study says
While Republican lawmakers insist trimming Medicare and Medicaid is the only way to rein in federal spending, researchers have found the programs have done a better job at controlling spending than private payers.
Other states likely to follow Utah's partial Medicaid expansion
The Utah Legislature passed a bill to partially expand Medicaid, and that may encourage other states to seek similar scaled-back expansions with full federal funding.
New Medicaid barrier: Waivers ending retrospective eligibility shift costs to providers, patients
Critics say eliminating retrospective eligibility is one more administrative barrier the Trump administration has erected to make Medicaid and other public benefits harder to access.
North Carolina awards $6 billion in Medicaid contracts
Four insurers scored contracts to serve North Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries under the state's new managed-care program launching in November.
Azar suggests commercial plans will ditch drug rebates too
After HHS proposed eliminating the safe harbor protection for Medicare Part D drug rebates, Secretary Alex Azar suggested commercial plans will also get rid of the rebates in order to align with the market.
Utah's limited Medicaid expansion bill could spark new waiver battles
If Utah's Legislature passes a bill to replace the voter-approved Medicaid expansion with a more limited version, experts say it will likely be challenged in the courts.
Utah Republicans advance limited Medicaid expansion bill
Utah Senate Republicans are racing to replace the state's voter-approved Medicaid expansion with a more limited expansion model that would require an unprecedented CMS waiver.
Idaho Supreme Court hears Medicaid expansion arguments
The arguments for or against Medicaid expansion in Idaho have typically fallen along ideological lines, something not lost on the justices. More than 60% of Idaho voters passed an initaitive to expand the program in November.
MACPAC wants Congress to slow down DSH cuts
A federal advisory panel on Medicaid wants Congress to gradually slow down reductions in payments to disproportionate-share hospitals and to change an outdated methodology used for allocating spending under the program.
Medicaid enrollees last in line when docs accepting new patients
Office-based doctors are accepting new Medicaid patients at a lower rate compared with Medicare and private insurance, according to a new MACPAC study.
