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The Hill
The Obama administration is awarding $22.9 million in new grants to states to improve mental healthcare as part of a bipartisan bill passed last year. The planning grants give funds to 24 states to prepare applications for a two-year trial program for community mental health clinics.
Eight states will be tapped in a second round beginning in 2017 to receive funding for the clinics, which will operate under new higher standards and offer services like 24-hour crisis psychiatric care.
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Inside Health Policy (Subscription required)
CMS officials say the agency plans to release some possible policies to offset the effect that poor and disabled beneficiaries have on Medicare Advantage plans' star ratings this fall as part of the annual request for comments on the star rating program.
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MHPA
Are you in last year’s mhpa2014 recap video? Watch it here. And don’t forget to check out our updated mhpa2015 agenda at bit.ly/mhpa2015. It’s only 20 days away so please register now if you haven’t signed up already!
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Arkansas Online
Arkansas will have a better chance of controlling its Medicaid budget if it hires managed-care companies to handle benefits for nursing home residents, the disabled and other patients with expensive medical needs, the director of the state Department of Human Services told legislators. John Selig, who plans to leave the Human Services Department at the end of this year, said the department has tried to implement changes in how it provides long-term services for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill, but with limited success.
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A bill under consideration in the state House would move the CHIP program, which provides free or low-cost health insurance to children, from the Department of Insurance to the Department of Human Services. Advocates say the switch would save the state money and would help families enrolled in the program.
Approximately 150,000 children statewide are enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, with about 11,500 of them in Allegheny County, according to statistics from the Insurance Department.
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Complex Clinical Reviews. Dependent Audits. And More.
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NJ Spotlight
A “significant” number of the New Jerseyans who picked up health insurance due to the expansion in Medicaid eligibility could lose their coverage if they fail to file renewals, according to the state’s Medicaid director.
Valerie Harr, director of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, said that despite three mailed notices to every resident asking them provide their income and other relevant information to determine whether they are still eligible for coverage, a significant number of residents aren’t responding.
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WRLB-TV
The Georgia Democratic Caucus held a Medicaid expansion town hall at the Citizens Service Center.
There were multiple panelists from different backgrounds at the event sharing their thoughts on why Medicaid should be expanded.
Those on the panel say there are 300,000 uninsured people in Georgia. If the expansion goes through, adults without kids, more older Americans, blind and disabled persons along with nearly half of the veterans in Georgia would get coverage.
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The Salt-Lake Tribune
Three-hundred-and-sixty-one white wooden crosses were planted in the lawn of the Utah Capitol, representing the estimated number of people who have died because of the Legislature's failure to expand Medicaid, as advocates kept pressure on lawmakers to act.
"If Utah has any great leaders lurking in this swamp of ineffectiveness, here is what he, she or they should do: First seize the moment before the federal-incentive window slams shut," said David Irvine, a former Republican House member and board member of Alliance For a Better Utah, a progressive advocacy group.
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With an emphasis on innovative initiatives and data-driven solutions, DentaQuest is partnering with health plans to fundamentally change the way oral health is delivered in America. Integrating preventive oral health programs not only offers members a wider portfolio of choice - it is also a proven driver of cost control.
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Nola
All four of Louisiana's major gubernatorial candidates have said they would be open to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a move that would expand health care coverage to nearly 300,000 people, according to one estimate, many of them the working poor. But the three Republican candidates — U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle — say they would seek a different version of the Medicaid expansion offered now, opening up a potentially lengthy and expensive process to obtain what's known as a waiver.
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AL.com
Is Gov. Robert Bentley nudging closer to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act?
Listen to what the governor said when asked the question.
"You know I wouldn't say nudging toward it," said Bentley. "But we are certainly looking at that; not right now. We are not at that stage right now." Expanding Medicaid would pump hundreds of millions of mostly federal dollars into what is Alabama's primary healthcare program for children and the poor and provide more dollars for primary care doctors to serve those patients.
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Chicago Tribune
In considering an expansion of Medicaid to make nearly 50,000 more state residents eligible for the program, South Dakota's proposal also focuses on improving access to care and boosting the health of the state's large Native American population.
The Health Care Solutions Coalition met in Pierre to discuss in part the proposal's impact on Native Americans, who make up nearly 9 percent of South Dakota's population.
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Managed Medicaid regulatory changes carry significant information technology implications. What will you need to comply? Where will you find it? Download today to learn more!
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The New York Times
With the potential for an unprecedented federal default two weeks away, House Republicans plan to pass legislation not to avert disaster, but rather to manage it, channeling daily tax collections to the nation’s creditors and Social Security recipients if the government’s borrowing limit is not lifted.
The Obama administration and nonpartisan authorities say the plan is unworkable, but efficacy may be beside the point.
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The Hill
New guidelines from the American Cancer Society say that women can wait until age 45 to get their first mammograms, the latest sign that major medical groups are walking back from more aggressive approaches to screening in the past.
“These recommendations are made with the intent of maximizing reductions in breast cancer mortality and years of life saved while being attentive to the need to minimize harms associated with screening,” said Dr. Kevin Oeffinger, chairman of the breast cancer guideline panel.
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HMS
As healthcare dollars grow tighter, payers must make major technological advancements to contain fraud – a $70 billion a year problem. This presentation addresses two of the latest ways to respond. Join Shannon Maceira, payment integrity shared services leader for HMS’s commercial business unit and Geetu Melwani, Ph.D., senior director of clinical analytics at HMS Permedion.
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