State Medicaid Programs

Posted on February 12, 2010 by townsend

• House may take Medicaid funds to help with budget, By Deborah Yetter, February 9, 2010, Louisville Courier-Journal: “House leaders are proposing a daring budget maneuver that would strip $227 million in General Fund money from the state’s Medicaid program for the next budget year in hopes that the federal government will approve additional stimulus funds for the program starting in 2011. The federal stimulus money, which has helped keep Kentucky’s $5.4 billion plan in the black, expires Dec. 31, the midpoint of the budget year. Advocates Tuesday were stunned to learn that the House is considering taking state money from Medicaid – with no guarantee Congress will provide extra money for the health plan, which covers the poor and disabled…”
• Medicaid fees may be trimmed to help balance Texas budget, By Robert T. Garrett, February 10, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “Doctors, dentists and hospitals would have their Medicaid fees trimmed by at least 1 percent under possible budget reductions offered today by state Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs. When treating adults, the caregivers would take a 2 percent hit, as would nursing homes, group homes for the mentally disabled and NorthSTAR, which provides mental-health services to some 400,000 low-income residents of Dallas and six nearby counties…”
• Medicaid cuts may affect care in Oklahoma, By Julie Bisbee, February 12, 2010, The Oklahoman: “Budget cuts at the agency that administers the state’s Medicaid program could make it more difficult for patients to get the medical care they need, members of the state’s medical association said Thursday.Cuts to Medicaid reimbursements approved by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority on Thursday will mean doctors get paid less for providing care to people enrolled in SoonerCare. Doctors that provide care to SoonerCare patients will see their reimbursement rates cut by 6.75 percent beginning April 1. Nearly 700,000 people are enrolled in the SoonerCare health care program each month. More than half of those enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program are children…”
• Prenatal care restored for some women in Nebraska, By Mark Andersen, February 10, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star: “Some pregnant legal residents should ignore a recent notice saying Nebraska Medicaid will not cover their prenatal care. New letters going out soon will say that, in fact, Medicaid will cover their care, state Medicaid Director Vivianne Chaumont said Wednesday. Not all pregnant women who got the first notice will get the second one restoring coverage. Notably, no second notices will be delivered to undocumented women, whose coverage of prenatal care will be ending. The issue relates to state efforts to comply with federal guidelines about when an unborn child can be counted in determining Medicaid eligibility…”