Medicaid

Jack Lew's nomination to Treasury secretary will likely elevate one of the Obama administration's most adamant supporters of Medicaid.

Lew has been a staunch advocate for Medicaid in his role as President Obama's chief of staff, and the program's outside supporters are excited that Lew will now play a bigger role.

"I'm thrilled. We're gaining even a stronger voice in the Treasury Department, and Jack is undoubtedly going to play a pivotal role in many of the future budget negotiations," Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said.

Participating in the Medicaid expansion in President Obama's signature healthcare law will cost California about $350 million, according to the budget Gov. Jerry Brown (D) released Thursday.

The costs to the state come mostly from people who are eligible for the program now but not enrolled, and are expected to join once the high-profile expansion takes effect.

Gov. Susana Martinez: New Mexico will expand Medicaid

Obesity, lack of insurance cited in US health gap

Justices look at legality of drunken-driving test

The Obama administration will not allow Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to drop more than 37,000 low-income people from Medicaid, instead approving plans that will affect coverage for about 20,000 Mainers. 

President Obama's acting Medicare chief cited healthcare reform Monday in denying LePage's plan to eliminate coverage for parents whose incomes fall between the federal poverty level and 133 percent of that number.

LePage also sought to cut insurance for 19- and 20-year-olds to save a total of $23 million.

The lead advocate for public hospitals is already making the case that safety-net providers cannot sustain cuts as part of a deficit-reduction deal this spring.

Bruce Siegel, who leads the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, congratulated lawmakers and the White House for avoiding the worst effects of the "fiscal cliff."

But he warned that public hospitals should not be expected to bear any cuts as part of a deal to replace the sequester and raise the debt ceiling in two months. 

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said his debilitating stroke has sparked a new interest in the experience of people on Medicaid.

In an interview published Wednesday, Kirk said that most Illinois residents insured through the low-income health program would be eligible for just 11 rehabilitation sessions following a stroke.

"Had I been limited to that I would have had no chance to recover like I did. So unlike before suffering the stroke, I’m much more focused on Medicaid and what my fellow citizens face," Kirk told the Chicago Sun Times. 

The Republican senators want a focus on entitlement reform after Congress addresses the impending expiration of the Bush-era tax rates.

The Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday night urged President Obama protect Medicaid provider taxes from reductions, saying that failing to do so would “create insurmountable barriers to care” and would disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities.

Provider taxes are used by states to boost federal funding for Medicaid, and reducing them in a debt or budget deal as the "fiscal cliff" looms closer would “create insurmountable barriers to care, but also will have a disproportionate and severe impact on millions of racial and ethnic minority beneficiaries who are in need of long-term and post-acute care,” the caucus said in a letter Wednesday night.

While acknowledging that “Congress must find ways to reduce federal spending and fund a wide variety of critically important programs,” the caucus also said that it was “deeply concerned” that reducing the provider tax would negatively affect nine million people who apply for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are calling for greater oversight of supplemental payments in Medicaid after a report found gaps in the government's information on who is paid and why.

Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released the report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Friday and called for more transparency.

"I am committed to additional oversight and accountability measures to help fulfill that promise and will continue to drive down costs and strengthen Medicaid," Baucus said in a statement. 

A coalition of health and social justice groups is urging Congress not to allow Medicaid cuts in a deal to reduce the deficit and avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

The 165 national groups sent a letter to lawmakers Tuesday asking them to shield Medicaid, which provides health insurance to low-income people, including millions of children. Liberal lawmakers have made the same case in recent weeks.

Tuesday's letter also argued against proposals to block-grant the program, like House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.).

Read more...