- Feds OK Medicaid privatization, with another delay, By Tony Leys and Jason Clayworth, February 23, 2016, Des Moines Register: “Gov. Terry Branstad gained federal approval Tuesday for his controversial plan to turn Medicaid over to private managers, but not until April 1. Branstad originally planned to make the massive shift on Jan. 1. Federal administrators determined in December that Iowa was not ready to turn the 560,000 poor or disabled people who use the program over to three private management companies. They ordered the state to wait until at least March 1…”
- New twists as Maine lawmakers again consider Medicaid expansion, By Joe Lawler, Feburary 23, 2016, Portland Press Herald: “Sen. Tom Saviello’s Medicaid expansion bill received a chilly reception from his fellow Republicans and the LePage administration Tuesday. The Wilton lawmaker received support from Democrats, however, and remained undeterred…”
- Bill would block Medicaid expansion for another two years, By Laura Hancock, February 23, 2016, Casper Star-Tribune: “The state Legislature, which recently defeated Medicaid expansion, is debating a bill that would create a two-year state study of health coverage for low-income Wyomingites – a measure critics call a delay tactic for helping the poor and the hospitals who serve them. But Sen. Charlie Scott, one of the sponsors of Senate File 86, said the measure is a compromise to Medicaid expansion, since the Legislature appears unwilling to extend the federal program to 20,000 low-income Wyoming adults under the Affordable Care Act.
Tag: Iowa
Medicaid Privatization – Iowa
Will Iowa’s poor face Kansan fate of Medicaid denials?, By Jason Clayworth, January 10, 2016, Des Moines Register: “Two of the corporations Iowa has picked to manage its Medicaid program face new accusations of trying to pad their profits by systematically denying payments to medical providers serving poor and disabled people in Kansas. Similar allegations of denied payments and unjust delays hounded both companies for years in other states. The companies — UnitedHealthcare and Amerigroup — have each paid tens of thousands of dollars to settle similar problems in other states, a Des Moines Register Investigation has found. But the new accusations in Kansas are particularly relevant to Iowa because the model used by Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration for privatized Medicaid management is similar to the Kansas plan in many ways, critics contend…”
State Medicaid Programs – Iowa, Michigan
- Feds tell Iowa: Delay Medicaid privatization by 60 days, By Tony Leys, December 18, 2015, Des Moines Register: “Federal administrators have ordered Iowa to wait at least 60 days before shifting its Medicaid program to private management. The delay, announced Thursday, will affect 560,000 poor or disabled Iowans who receive health care under the $4 billion program. Gov. Terry Branstad has been pushing to transfer Medicaid management to national, for-profit companies on Jan. 1. The governor says the shift would save money and provide more flexible benefits. But federal officials have heard from hundreds of Iowa critics who say Branstad is courting chaos by rushing to make the switch before the managed-care companies are ready…”
- Feds approve Medicaid waiver for Michigan, By Karen Bouffard and Melissa Nann Burke, December 17, 2015, Detroit News: “More than a half million Michigan residents will get to keep their expanded Medicaid health insurance next year and beyond after the federal government Thursday approved the final waiver required under state law. Under terms approved Thursday by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, starting in April 2018 about 110,000 participants in the Healthy Michigan Plan will be required to adopt healthier behaviors or be kicked off the expanded Medicaid program…”