This message contains images. If you don't see images, click here to view.
Advertise in this news brief.
|
|
| |
Webinar Wednesday: 'Clinical Challenges in Pain Management' by Millennium Laboratories | Dec. 11, 3 p.m. ET
MHPA
Intended for clinical audiences using urine drug testing, this webinar will help attendees understand, interpret and integrate testing results into ongoing clinical assessment and decision-making. Angela G. Huskey, Pharm.D., CPE, associate vice president of clinical affairs for Millennium Laboratories, will address differences in testing technologies with a focus on understanding the causes and clinical consequences of false negative and false positive results. After the webinar, clinicians should be able to communicate better with patients about unexpected results, potentially improving patient care and the therapeutic relationship.
|
|
Share this article:
    |
|
|
Federal exchange sends unqualified people to Medicaid
USA Today
The federal healthcare exchange is incorrectly determining that some people are eligible for Medicaid when they clearly are not, leaving them with little chance to get the subsidized insurance they are entitled to as the Dec. 23 deadline for enrollment approaches.
21 percent of those with Medicare or Medicaid have had to put off care
due to cost
CBS News
A record number of Americans are skipping necessary medical care because of cost, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that 32 percent of Americans say they had to put off medical care for themselves or a family member over the past year because of finances. Gallup also reports that 55 percent of uninsured adults had to put off care, as did 30 percent of those with private health insurance and 21 percent of survey responders who have Medicare or Medicaid.
CMS plans to finalize Medicaid reimbursement rule in May, FULs in July
Inside Health Policy
CMS plans to release a final rule on Medicaid reimbursement for outpatient drugs in May, according to the Office of Management and Budget, and the agency recently announced plans to release the Federal Upper Limits for multiple source drugs in July. Medicaid directors had urged CMS to refrain from publishing FUL pricing until the final rule was released, and pharmacists had asked CMS to delay using the draft FULs until the final rule was released.
North Carolina Medicaid anticipating overhaul proposal changes
The Associated Press via BND.com
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's administration recently proposed a dramatic overhaul of what McCrory has repeatedly called a "broken" Medicaid system. It's one beset annually by hundreds of millions of dollars in shortfalls.
|
FEATURED COMPANIES
LeadCare II: a point-of-care blood-lead testing system that helps ensure compliance with testing mandates. Learn more about this 2011 MHPA Best Practices Award winning solution. MORE
|
|
To find out how to feature your company in the MHPA eNewsletter and other advertising opportunities, Contact
Geoffrey Forneret at 469.420.2629.
MORE
|
|
White House, North Carolina Democrats press state to expand Medicaid
News & Observer
The White House enlisted two top North Carolina Democrats on Monday to urge Gov. Pat McCrory and the legislature to reconsider their opposition to Medicaid expansion under Obamacare. White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said that states would save money "over and above the expense of expanding Medicaid."
North Carolina auditor: Medicaid claims system had more than 3,200 defects
News & Observer
The recently released North Carolina state audit put a number to all the problems with a new Medicaid claims system that has frustrated hospitals, doctors and other healthcare providers for months. NC Tracks has had more than 3,200 defects since the state started using it July 1, according to the report, and more than 600 had not been fixed by Nov. 5.
Tennessee governor working with HHS on Medicaid expansion
The Hill
 The Republican governor of Tennessee said he'd be open to expanding Medicaid under Obamacare if a system is found that the state's GOP-led legislature approves of. Gov. Bill Haslam, in a letter sent to Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius, expressed optimism that a solution could be found.
Lawmakers will be urged to expand Medicaid in South Dakota
The Associated Press via Rapid City Journal
South Dakota lawmakers and healthcare groups are planning to ask the state legislature to expand the state's Medicaid program in January, which will cover the medical costs of 48,000 more poor people, despite resistance from Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
Ohio' Medicaid-enrollment website works smoothly on 1st day
The Columbus Dispatch
Online enrollment has begun for Ohio's newly expanded Medicaid program, allowing more than 1,100 low-income residents to sign up for tax-funded health insurance by the end of the day. State officials said it's likely the largest number ever to sign up for benefits in a single day.
SHOWCASE
 |
|
How much can our customized solutions save you? Contact HMS today.
|
|
Pennsylvania wants to use federal funds to cover poor
The New York Times
Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett recently released details of his proposal to use federal Medicaid funds to buy private health insurance for low-income people — a plan similar to one being carried out by Arkansas and considered by other Republican governors who oppose expanding Medicaid under President Barack Obama's healthcare law.
More than 100,000 New Yorkers enroll in Obamacare
The Hill
More than 100,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in the state's insurance exchange since it launched Oct. 1. The state's health department has announced that 100,881 New Yorkers had enrolled in a health plan, and that 314,146 people had completed applications for the insurance. It's not clear how many of the enrollees are entering the expanded Medicaid program under the healthcare reform law, and how many are joining Obamacare.
HMS Holdings Corp. announces new executives
Business Wire via Pharmacy Choice
HMS Holdings Corp. has announced two key additions to its management team — Joel Portice as divisional president, government solutions and corporate strategy, and Douglas M. Williams as divisional president, commercial Solutions. Portice and Williams will serve on the company's executive team and report to Bill Lucia, president and chief executive officer.
TMG Health: Innovative technology will deliver success to healthcare payers
PRNewswire via WCIV-TV
Health plans and pharmacy benefit managers in the Medicare advantage and managed Medicaid markets can successfully adapt to healthcare reform by innovating and providing a compliant information technology solution that is adaptable, reusable, scalable and extendable, according to a new white paper published by TMG Health.
|
| FEATURED ARTICLE
|
TRENDING ARTICLE
|
MOST POPULAR ARTICLE
|
Medicaid, insurance fixes may be big trouble later
Politico
An Obamacare fix quietly announced on Black Friday could put states at risk for higher Medicaid costs and even fraud.
Although Medicaid signups through HealthCare.gov have been considered a rare bright spot in the flawed Obamacare rollout, the federal portal has been unable to send those Medicaid applications to the states for final processing.
|
|
Cost of healthcare law seen as decreasing
The New York Times
The rollout of President Barack Obama's healthcare law may have deeply disappointed its supporters, but on at least one front, the Affordable Care Act is beating expectations — its cost.
|
|
CMS waiver for Medicaid data transfers raises questions
Inside Health Policy
Sources suggest that CMS' move to allow states to use the information included in so-called "flat files" to enroll people in Medicaid potentially by Jan. 1 — since the full electronic transfer function is not ready — could create problems with program integrity as well resource allocation for certain states and say that more information is needed to better understand the process.
|
|
2013-2014 Best Practices Compendium on sale
MHPA
MHPA's Best Practices Compendium is our annual compilation of exemplary programs run by Medicaid health plans and their partners that help improve member lives. It's also a valuable reference tool that features a listing
of the current state Medicaid directors and an MHPA member health plan/vendor resource directory. Get yours today ($25 for members, $30 for nonmembers). To order, call 202-857-5720, or email us here.
|
Share this article:
|
Recent webinar presentations from Navigant, PwC, Lilly and others available free on MHPA website
MHPA
View PDFs or listen to audio for the following webinars:
Additional webinars can be viewed here.
Job opportunity: Johns Hopkins HealthCare LLC COO
Johns Hopkins HealthCare LLC via FurstGroup
Johns Hopkins HealthCare LLC seeks an accomplished operational leader to join the executive management team to drive performance excellence, growth and strategy. The chief operating officer is a strategic business partner to the JHHC President, and together they will implement a plan for growth and transformation in response to healthcare reform that is in concert with that of JHM.
Qualified candidates will possess a bachelor's degree in business administration or a related field with a preference for a master's degree or MBA. We require at least 15 years of increasingly responsible senior management experience in health plan operations or a similar highly transactional environment with demonstrated skills in innovation, change management and strategic systems thinking.
Access the position profile on our Web site via the link here. For immediate consideration, please apply directly to Deanna Banks, principal at FurstGroup.
Missed our previous issues? See which articles your colleagues read most.
Sign up for a free trial to Health Exchange Alert, a news service from InsideHealthPolicy.com
Inside Health Policy
The Affordable Care Act's mandated health exchanges are on the front burner for policymakers and should be for you, too. Stay on top of the evolution and implementation of health exchanges with Health Exchange Alert, the news service from InsideHealthPolicy.com. Act now by clicking here to activate a no-obligation, four-week free trial to gain immediate access to InsideHealthPolicy.com and Health Exchange Alert.
Your free trial will include access to the numerous articles and documents posted every business day, as well an email alert every morning highlighting the latest news. You'll also have access to our three weekly newsletters (Health Exchange Alert, Inside CMS and FDA Week), which you can download in PDF format and circulate.
MHPA on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook
MHPA
Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to get industry-related news and the latest MHPA announcements.
|
Share this article:
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsored by ...
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
