States and Medicaid Expansion

Posted on April 26, 2013 by admin

• Fallout possible for states rejecting Medicaid expansion, By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar (AP), April 22, 2013, Detroit News: “Rejecting the Medicaid expansion in the federal health care law could have unexpected consequences for states where Republican lawmakers remain steadfastly opposed to what they scorn as ‘Obamacare.’ It could mean exposing businesses to Internal Revenue Service penalties and leaving low-income citizens unable to afford coverage even as legal immigrants get financial aid for their premiums. For the poorest people, it could virtually guarantee that they will remain uninsured and dependent on the emergency room at local hospitals that already face federal cutbacks…”
• Pivotal fight over Medicaid in Fla. nears resolution, By Phil Galewitz, April 26, 2013, USA Today: “Cary Pigman, a Republican member of the state House of Representatives, sees uninsured patients every shift as an emergency room doctor in rural central Florida, where nearly 30% of residents lack coverage. As Florida’s legislative session nears its end May 3, Pigman might be expected to sympathize with hospitals and others urging the Republican-led Legislature to accept $50 billion in federal money over a decade to extend Medicaid coverage to 1 million poor Floridians — but that’s not the case…”
• Hospitals could lose millions without Medicaid expansion, By Ben Sutherly, April 22, 2013, Columbus Dispatch: “With billions of dollars at stake, Ohio’s hospitals, doctors and business leaders kept pushing last week for an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program, even as others said there are better ways to cover much of the uninsured population…”
• Ohio’s Medicaid expansion alternative could use private insurance, By Sarah Jane Tribble, April 22, 2013, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “For the first time since Gov. John Kasich won national attention by supporting Medicaid expansion, a clear picture is emerging on how the Republican governor’s compromise with federal regulators could work…”
• Medicaid expansion could lower infant mortality rate, report says, By Scott Davis, April 21, 2013, Lansing State Journal: “A proposed statewide expansion of Medicaid could bolster recent efforts to lower infant mortality rates in Ingham County, a new report concludes. By providing healthcare for low-income women before pregnancy, the proposed Medicaid expansion beginning next year would give more babies a healthier start at birth, according to the report by the Michigan League for Public Policy…”
• Louisiana health committee rejects Medicaid expansion bill, By Sheila V Kumar, April 24, 2013, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “After nearly five hours of testimony, a House health panel voted along party lines to reject a bill that would have forced Gov. Bobby Jindal to opt into the Medicaid expansion envisioned under the federal health care law. Jindal has consistently resisted the expansion, though the cost would largely be covered by the federal government, saying Medicaid is badly flawed and must be reformed…”
• Medicaid expansion could lead to more payment delays, By Dean Olsen, April 21, 2013, State Journal-Register: “The federal government would fully fund the first three years of a proposed expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Illinois, but critics say related costs not covered by the feds could result in the state taking even longer to pay its bills…”
• Brewer, GOP in Medicaid standoff, By Mary K. Reinhart, April 23, 2013, Arizona Republic: “Three months after she stunned political observers and made her case for expanding Medicaid coverage in Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer is no closer to reaching agreement with Republican legislative leaders on the issue, which has driven a wedge through GOP ranks and is delaying work on the state budget…”
• Most South Carolinians favor expanding Medicaid, poll says, By Adam Beam, April 21, 2013, The State: “A slim majority of South Carolinians – 50.8 percent – support expanding Medicaid, the government-run health-insurance program for the poor. But don’t expect those Winthrop poll results – the first time that South Carolinians have been asked what they think on the issue – to change any minds at the State House…”
• State’s Medicaid expansion report revised, delayed, By Dave Boucher, April 26, 2013, Charleston Daily Mail: “The study commissioned by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on expansion of Medicaid is costing more than $860,000 and will cover a wide array of issues raised by the federal health care overhaul. The company preparing the report originally promised it in January. It has completed some aspects of the contract but not the assessment of expanding Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor…”