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Kaiser Health News
In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, low-income adults were more likely to see a doctor, stay overnight in a hospital and receive their first diagnoses of diabetes and high cholesterol, according to a study published Monday. Yet researchers found no improvement in adults' own assessments of their health, a conclusion echoed by similar studies, the authors wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Two factors might explain the lack of perceived improvement. People did not sign up for Medicaid as soon as it expanded in January 2014 so there was little time to better their health. Also, survey participants' increased contact with health providers and fresh knowledge about their health might have negatively affected their opinions, the authors said.
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The New York Times
The first full year of the Affordable Care Act brought historic increases in coverage for low-wage workers and others who have long been left out of the healthcare system, a New York Times analysis has found. Immigrants of all backgrounds — including more than a million legal residents who are not citizens — had the sharpest rise in coverage rates.
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The Hill
About 18 million people have gained health insurance because of Obamacare, according to a new study. The study from the Urban Institute finds that without the Affordable Care Act, 18.1 million more adults would be uninsured as of March 2015. The finding is similar to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services last month that found 20 million people had gained coverage because of the health law as of early 2016.
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Inside Health Policy (Subscription required)
As stakeholders wait to see whether a Medicaid medical loss ratio requirement will be included in CMS' long-awaited final Medicaid managed care rule, Oregon says it will expand its MLR requirement for Medicaid Coordinated Care Organizations to include the state's nonexpansion population come 2017.
The state noted that this would be consistent with CMS' proposed Medicaid managed care rule. Medicaid Health Plans of America criticized the MLR standard in the proposed rule, and the group has been pushing CMS to remove the language. MHPA has said that the MLR is arbitrary and unnecessary since there are already requirements in place to make sure states set actuarially sound rates for Medicaid managed care plans.
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The Times-Picayune
Medicaid expansion is estimated to save Louisiana $677 million over the next five years and more than $1 billion over the next decade, Department of Health and Hospitals officials told Senate Health and Welfare Committee members Monday. The cost estimates came after Gov. John Bel Edwards testified before the committee about his decision to expand Medicaid eligibility to about 375,000 people between July 1 and June 30, 2017. DHH officials will make an effort in the coming weeks to educate legislators about the benefits of Medicaid expansion and what they said was misinformation given to the legislature to justify not expanding Medicaid under former Gov. Bobby Jindal.
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Southwest Times Record
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that three of the 10 Republican state senators who oppose funding his Medicaid expansion plan have said they are willing to go along with a strategy that would allow the funding to pass without their direct support. But Democrats who support Medicaid expansion also would have to go along for the strategy to work, and it was unclear Monday whether they would.
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The Associated Press via The Baltimore Sun
Ohio officials are set to release proposed details of an effort to require more than 1 million low-income Ohioans to pay a new monthly cost for Medicaid. House Republicans inserted the idea for the so-called Healthy Ohio Program into the state budget last year. It would require federal approval.
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The Commonwealth Fund
Texas is one of nearly 20 states yet to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act and is home to the largest number of uninsured Americans of any state in the country. For many of the state's 5 million uninsured, this decision has left them without an option for affordable health insurance.
A comparison with other southern states that have expanded Medicaid shows how this decision has left many low-income Texans less able to afford their medical bills, to pay for needed prescription drugs, and to obtain regular care for chronic conditions. These problems have been compounded by the state's opposition to outreach and enrollment assistance for many Texans who are eligible for coverage under the ACA. Ongoing efforts from stakeholders and consumer groups to persuade state leaders to expand coverage have significant implications for the well-being of millions of low-income adults in Texas.
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The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Medicaid provided health coverage for over 70 million individuals during the 2013 fiscal year. A number of studies have demonstrated that Medicaid coverage helps to improve receipt of preventive healthcare, access to care and out-of-pocket spending burdens and other financial outcomes. However, given ongoing concerns about federal and state budgets, the costs of the Medicaid program are likely to be again at the forefront of state and federal policy discussions. As federal policy makers consider proposals to reform Medicaid financing, this issue brief examines evidence from over 40 methodologically rigorous studies related to Medicaid program spending.
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The Hill
Hillary Clinton went after Bernie Sanders's policy proposals during Thursday's Democratic debate, saying the presidential contender's single-payer healthcare plan would be a "train wreck for the poor." Sanders' plan "would pose an incredible burden, not just on the budget but on individuals," Clinton told the debate audience in Brooklyn, New York, accusing Sanders of making costly promises he couldn't deliver.
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Inside Health Policy
Introducing Medicaid Roundup, a new feature on Inside Health Policy offering news and analysis of major policies affecting Medicaid stakeholders. The monthly roundup looks ahead at emerging issues and also provides an update on recent policy developments. You can read the latest Medicaid Roundup featuring MHPA's comments on North Carolina's $835 million in Medicaid overpayments to doctors and hospitals when you click here to set up your no-obligation, one-month-free trial to Inside Health Policy.
MHPA and Institute for Medicaid Innovation
Last year, MHPA and the Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) received nearly 100 submissions for consideration in the annual best practices compendium.
2016-2017 Medicaid Managed Care Best Practices Compendium
The categories for this year's compendium remain the same; women's and maternal health, child health, behavioral health, long-term care and transitions of care and expansion population. However, the deadlines for submission are earlier due to MHPA's annual conference occurring in September, instead of November as last year.
The following is the timeline for this year's submission cycle.
April 30: Best Practices Submission Form DUE
Sept. 21: Release of Compendium and Announcement of Awards at MHPA Conference (D.C.)
Women's Reproductive Health Project
The IMI is also leading a women's reproductive health project that is funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation. We will be administering a questionnaire developed by your colleagues at Medicaid health plans that will include an opportunity to briefly identify innovative and promising best practices, develop an issue brief and host a policy briefing with Kaiser. We encourage your participation in the following ways:
April 12: Questionnaire emailed to plans
May 16: Questionnaire DUE
TBD: Kaiser and Institute Joint Policy Briefing (D.C.)
Please send your submissions and any questions to Jennifer Moore.
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