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Medicaid enrollment, spending soars in New Mexico amid virus
The Associated Press via The Daily Progress
Spending on federally subsidized Medicaid health care across New Mexico has surged to an all-time high as the coronavirus pandemic throws more people of all ages into poverty, state program analysts and health officials said Wednesday.
An independent evaluation of the state's flagship managed care program for Medicaid insurance found that enrollment is surging to new heights, adding more than 52,000 people to the state's "Centennial Care" program that serves about 80% of New Mexico's Medicaid patients.
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Illinois: Officials looking to extend Medicaid coverage in favor of new mothers
Chicago Tribune via Herald & Review
After childbirth, new moms are vulnerable to many pregnancy-related, life-threatening conditions. Maternal death can happen in the weeks and months following a baby's arrival.
In Illinois, Medicaid covers women for only 60 days after birth. Health and policy advocates say this leaves women without coverage at a time experts recently recommended adding more care.
Officials from the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services have applied through the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend Medicaid coverage to one year postpartum. Of the 73 maternal deaths in Illinois in 2016, 42 women died between 43 days and one year after delivery.
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State Democrats again call for Medicaid expansion in Florida
Spectrum News
Amid a pandemic that has cost hundreds of thousands of Floridians their jobs and their health insurance, Democratic state lawmakers are demanding a "fresh look" at expanding Medicaid. Over the last eight years, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature has twice rejected proposals to accept $54 billion in federal funding to cover as many as a million uninsured Floridians who don't currently qualify for Medicaid and are unable to afford private policies. A 2015 Medicaid expansion measure backed by Senate leaders was stymied by House Republicans, who warned that long-term costs would ultimately be borne by state taxpayers despite federal assurances to the contrary.
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Florida's new hospital industry head opposes Medicaid expansion
Modern Healthcare
With its choice of a new leader, the Florida Hospital Association has signaled that seeking legislative approval to expand Medicaid to nearly 850,000 uninsured adults won't be among its top priorities.
In October, Mary Mayhew became the association's CEO. Mayhew, who led the state's Medicaid agency since 2019, has been a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion adopted by 38 other states. She has argued that expansion puts states in a difficult position because the federal government is unlikely to keep its financial commitment to pay its share of the costs.
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Oklahoma senator says funding unclear for Medicaid expansion
Pawhuska Journal-Capital
Oklahoma Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, last week commented before a Barnsdall Chamber of Commerce audience that he didn't know where funding would come from for a legally mandated expansion of Medicaid in Oklahoma.
State Question 814, which was on Oklahoma ballots Nov. 3, went down to defeat, with 58.8 % of the electorate voting "No." That question called for money to be diverted from the state's Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust to help pay the cost of Medicaid expansion. It was anticipated that passage of SQ 814 would likely have yielded more than $50 million in the first year alone, to help pay for Medicaid expansion.
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Ohio senator: Medicaid recipients shouldn't pay out of pocket for COVID-19 vaccine
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown wants all Medicaid recipients to be able to get a coronavirus vaccine without having to pay out of pocket.
During a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Brown said he is introducing a bill that would ensure that those recipients wouldn't be responsible for co-pays on that and other vaccines.
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Sedgwick County ducking fight over expanding Medicaid in Kansas; 'not a county issue'
The Wichita Eagle
The county with the most uninsured residents in Kansas will almost certainly go to to the state Legislature this year with no position on whether to expand Medicaid to cover them.
An effort to add a plank supporting Medicaid expansion to Sedgwick County's annual legislative platform died Tuesday with two of the four commissioners saying they don't think the county should be involved in the issue.
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New Aetna pilot aims to improve Medicaid member engagement, SDOH
HealthPayerIntelligence
Aetna's new partnership leverages the pharmacist-patient relationship to improve Aetna's Medicaid member engagement and better address social determinants of health, CVS Health announced through a U.S. News & World Report article.
One of the major challenges in addressing social determinants of health, particularly in Medicaid, is finding the right channel for communication with beneficiaries.
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Amid financial strains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid plan leaders must take action to contain inappropriate medical costs immediately without sacrificing the quality of care their members receive. Cotiviti’s new white paper offers five areas that Medicaid payers should evaluate to protect their business in this environment.
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Judge blocks Trump administration rule said to threaten rights of home health workers nationwide
Chicago Sun-Times
A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration rule that opponents said would have hurt the bargaining rights of more than 500,000 home healthcare workers in California and hundreds of thousands morel workers across the nation.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria found that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule changing Medicaid state payment requirements would have made it tougher for states to deduct employee benefits and union dues from workers’ paychecks.
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