Medicaid decision looms for Va. in health care debate, By Michael Martz, June 17, 2012, Richmond Times-Dispatch: “Nothing is more important to health care reform in Virginia than expansion of Medicaid. With an estimated 1 million Virginians uninsured, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would make up to 425,000 people in the state eligible for Medicaid health coverage beginning on Jan. 1, 2014. As the U.S. Supreme Court nears a decision within two weeks on the constitutionality of the 2-year-old law, Virginia is preparing for an outcome that would leave most of the act intact, even if the “individual mandate,” requiring that almost all Americans have insurance, is overturned. “If all we get out of the Affordable Care Act is the Medicaid expansion, that wouldn’t be a bad thing in terms of coverage for people,” said Deborah A. Oswalt, executive director of the Virginia Health Care Foundation. The expansion would most benefit parents who aren’t eligible now if they earn more than 24 percent of the federal poverty level. . .”
Tag: Virginia
Medicaid Programs – Virginia, Illinois
- Initiative places Medicaid recipients back home, By Elizabeth Simpson, March 25, 2012, Virginian-Pilot: “When Linda Archie moved into a Virginia Beach nursing home five years ago, she thought her days of being independent were over. Archie, 71, is paralyzed on one side of her body because of brain aneurysms. She had to get used to sharing a room, eating and sleeping according to schedule, and putting up with the assumption that ‘I wasn’t right up here,’ she said, tapping her head. That’s where they were wrong. In 2009, someone showed up at her bedside with a question: Did she want to move out? She did. ‘I felt like I had my life back,’ said Archie, who’s been living in an apartment for the past two years. It’s a question required by the government to be asked of nursing home residents at least four times a year, and it’s bolstered by a federal initiative called ‘Money Follows the Person’ that helps people on Medicaid move out of long-term care facilities…”
- Cutting Medicaid drug spending not a simple task, By Carla K. Johnson (AP), March 25, 2012, Springfield State Journal-Register: “The search for Medicaid savings might drive some lawmakers to drugs – examining drug spending, that is. Medications for 2.7 million poor and disabled Illinoisans now cost the Medicaid program more than $1 billion annually. Medicaid covers drugs for a wide variety of illnesses, from asthma to schizophrenia, and the cost per prescription ranges from $1 for aspirin to $1,600 for an HIV drug. So, for lawmakers trying to figure out how to meet Gov. Pat Quinn’s goal of cutting the $14 billion program by $2.7 billion, it makes sense to scrutinize the big-ticket cost of the pharmaceuticals…”
Drug Testing and Assistance Programs – Virginia, Indiana
- Welfare drug testing bill whips up debate in state legislature, By Mike Sluss, January 25, 2012, Roanoke Times: “A House of Delegates committee has advanced legislation that would require drug testing of Virginia welfare recipients, despite objections from Democrats who argued that the proposal amounts to a targeted attack on poor people. The legislation – House Bill 73 – would require local social services agencies to screen recipients in the state welfare program to determine whether they use illegal drugs. Those who refuse to comply or fail a drug test would lose Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits for one year unless they enter a drug treatment program. A recipient would have one opportunity to be reinstated to the program by complying with screening, assessment and treatment requirements…”
- Welfare drug-testing bill passes on to vote from full House, By Maureen Hayden, January 25, 2012, News and Tribune: “Indiana lawmakers are pushing forward on legislation that would cut off cash assistance to welfare recipients who fail drug tests. In a 15-5 vote that crossed party lines, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved a bill that would require the state’s Family and Social Services Agency to test out a drug-screening program on a small scale before it was launched statewide. It now goes to the full House for a vote. The focus is narrow: The FSSA would implement the drug-screening program in three test counties for a two-year period, then report back to the legislature. The drug-screening would only apply to adults who are receiving cash payments through a program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF…”