- Fewer Utah doctors willing to care for Medicaid patients, By Jennifer Dobner, July 17, 2013, Salt Lake Tribune: “The number of Utah medical providers willing to treat Medicaid patients has been dropping since 2008 — even as the number of Utahns on the public health program has climbed, according to new data from state analysts. And with Utah’s Medicaid rolls expected to grow in 2014 — when penalties in the Affordable Care Act spur eligible Utahns to apply — even more patients may be relying on the dwindling number of providers…”
- Delays threaten W.Va. Medicaid expansion, By Dave Boucher, July 16, 2013, Charleston Daily Mail: “Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin cast further doubt Monday on the prospect of West Virginia meeting the federal deadline for expanding its Medicaid program coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Tomblin asked a series of questions he believes are crucial to the state meeting the deadline. He blamed federal delays for the state’s problems with rolling out its new Medicaid system and new insurance exchange…”
Tag: West Virginia
School Meals Programs – West Virginia
W.Va. tries to tackle childhood hunger and obesity through expanded school meals, Associated Press, April 22, 2013, Washington Post: “In West Virginia’s Mason County, children walk to the cafeteria together so they can start the day’s lessons with a side of whole grain waffles, cereal, fruit and milk. Here, among the coal mines and farms so familiar across Appalachia, the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is taken literally as a way to tackle two problems: improving achievement in a state that ranks 47th nationally in public education, according to an annual study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and improving health in a state where federal officials say 29 percent of high schoolers are obese…”
States and Medicaid Expansion
- Christie says he’ll take U.S. money to expand Medicaid, By Kate Zernike, February 26, 2013, New York Times: “Gov. Chris Christie, one of the most strident Republican critics of President Obama’s health care overhaul, announced on Tuesday that he would accept federal money to expand the Medicaid program in New Jersey. The expansion, which the governor described in his annual budget address to the Legislature, would provide health insurance to 104,000 of the poorest 1.3 million residents currently living without it, though some groups say the number could be higher…”
- Gov. Chris Christie agrees to expand Medicaid in NJ, still ‘no fan of affordable care act’, Associated Press, February 26, 2013, Washington Post: “Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he would expand Medicaid health insurance coverage to more low-income New Jersey adults as part of President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul — all while making it clear he’s ‘no fan of’ the president’s program…”
- Medicaid expansion could save Iowa counties up to $60 million on mental health, state experts say, By Tony Leys, February 28, 2013, Des Moines Register: “Iowa counties could save up to $60 million per year in mental-health costs if the state agrees to expand its Medicaid program, state experts estimate. The estimate, which comes from within Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration, could increase pressure on the governor to accept the Medicaid expansion. Branstad, a Republican, has steadfastly resisted the idea, saying he doubts the federal government’s promise to pay nearly all the cost…”
- W.Va. Medicaid expansion would create 6,000 jobs, activists say, By Lori Kersey, February 26, 2013, Charleston Gazette: “Expanding Medicaid in West Virginia would create about 6,200 new jobs across the state in 2016, according to a study released today by the West Virginians for Affordable Health Care and Families USA…”
- Medicaid expansion a short-term money maker for Utah, By Kirsten Stewart, February 28, 2013, Salt Lake Tribune: “As Gov. Gary Herbert awaits the results of a study predicting what it would cost Utah to expand Medicaid, lawmakers have produced their own estimate. Not only would the expansion cost Utah nothing the first three years, it would save the state $222,000 in general and education funds in 2014 and $444,000 in 2015…”