- Passport costs more than regular Medicaid, official says, By Tom Loftus, February 17, 2010, Louisville Courier-Journal: “Passport Health Plan, often praised for its efficiency as Kentucky’s only Medicaid managed care venture, costs the state far more per person than the state’s regular Medicaid program, a key state official contends. The assertion was made in a five-page letter sent Tuesday by state Medicaid Commissioner Elizabeth Johnson – and strongly disputed by Passport officials – to the staff of the House budget committee. The panel is considering an expansion of the Passport approach as one of many ways to save money to help plug a $1.5 billion revenue shortfall in the 2010-12 state budget. Passport – a consortium of hospitals, doctors and other health-care providers – was created in 1997 to apply the efficiencies of managed care to limit the soaring costs of the Medicaid program in a region that includes Jefferson and 15 surrounding counties. Managed care aims to achieve savings by keeping clients within a network of providers…”
- Medicaid revamp faces obstacles in Tallahassee, By Kelli Kennedy (AP), February 17, 2010, Miami Herald: “With Medicaid costs now consuming 26 percent of the state budget, the upcoming session seems primed for a program overhaul. But legislators will tackle the issue amid a foundering pilot program, a class-action Medicaid lawsuit that could cost the state millions, all while waiting to see if and how a federal health bill will affect the state. Reining in the program for low-income and disabled patients has been discussed, with little change, for years. But with Florida’s sour economy driving Medicaid enrollment to an all-time high, lawmakers say they have no choice this session. The state expects to pay $17.9 billion to serve 2.6 million recipients – one out of every seven residents – and an 11 percent increase from last year…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty