Appeals court takes up transgender health coverage case likely headed to Supreme Court
A federal appeals court is considering cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia that could have significant implications on whether individual states are required to cover health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance.
Fake Arizona rehab centers scam Native Americans far from home, officials warn during investigations
Hundreds of Native Americans have been recruited to addiction treatment centers in Phoenix from states as far away as Montana in a widespread billing scheme that mostly targeted Medicaid’s American Indian Health Program.
3 arrested in $142M genetic testing fraud scheme using Houston company; $7.1M in assets seized
The Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has arrested three people associated with the genetic testing company ApolloMDx for their alleged involvement in a major healthcare fraud scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare approximately $142 million.
‘Scared out of my mind’: A family scrambles after their disabled 3-year-old loses Medicaid
When Texas started scrubbing people from Medicaid after a three-year pause on removals during the pandemic, one family lost the insurance coverage that helped provide all treatments for their medically complex child.
Navajo Nation declares widespread Medicaid scam in Arizona a public health state of emergency
A widespread Arizona Medicaid scam that has left an unknown number of Native Americans homeless on the streets of metro Phoenix is being declared a public health state of emergency by the Navajo Nation as fraudulent sober living homes lose their funding and turn former residents onto the streets.
This year, Texas lawmakers zeroed in on existing health care programs, leaving bolder measures by the wayside
Pregnant moms on Medicaid will get health care coverage for a year, patients will get more detailed billing and nurses will get help with school loans. But efforts failed to gain steam for legalizing fentanyl test strips, increasing the pool of mental health professionals who accept Medicaid and expanding Medicaid benefits to more Texans.
Texas lawmakers keep anti-abortion amendment in postpartum Medicaid extension proposal
A committee of House and Senate members agreed to a plan to extend Medicaid coverage for a year after childbirth — with a controversial anti-abortion amendment attached. The bill now goes to both chambers for a final vote.
Texans would get one year of Medicaid coverage after giving birth under bill advanced by Senate committee
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and advocates have thrown their support behind extending Medicaid coverage for a full year after childbirth. The full Senate will now have the opportunity to consider the bill, which has already passed the House.
Texas House moves to expand Medicaid coverage to new moms for a year after childbirth
New moms would be able to maintain their health insurance for up to a year after childbirth under the proposal, which also passed the House last session. The Senate previously reduced it to just six months of coverage.
Pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Here’s what that means for people using Medicaid health benefits.
Texas is reviewing the eligibility of people on Medicaid health plans or Healthy Texas Women now that pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Here’s what that means, how to renew your health coverage or find other options if you no longer qualify.
State, feds say six-month maternal Medicaid coverage still under review
HHSC said it was initially told the plan was “not approvable.” Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a statement Friday saying Texas’ plan to extend coverage to six months was not rejected but still under review.
Analysis: Texas gets a respite on Medicaid, but not a cure for the uninsured
Texas got a temporary reprieve on Medicaid funding from the federal government. But that won’t solve underlying problems with high numbers of uninsured Texans and the plight of hospitals in the state — especially those in rural areas.
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Texas lawmakers split over how long to extend Medicaid health coverage for new mothers
Maternal health advocates said the bill — originally pitched as a one-year extension — could reduce the state’s maternal mortality rate and offer vital help to mothers grappling with conditions like postpartum depression or health complications in the months after giving birth.
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New Texas lawsuit accuses Biden administration of threatening state’s health care funding to force Medicaid expansion
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit, filed Friday, argues that the Trump-era extension of the federal 1115 Medicaid funding waiver was lawful and that overturning it was a political move.
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Despite high rate of teen pregnancies, Texas lawmakers unlikely to expand Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover birth control
Her medical insurance at the time was provided by the Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, which provides health care to adolescents whose families are low-income but make too much to qualify for Medicaid. CHIP provided coverage for her medicine, doctors appointments and other medical needs but unlike Medicaid, it typically does not cover the cost of birth control — something that Johnson needed to regulate her menstrual cycle.
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Medicaid expansion for uninsured Texans had bipartisan support, but lawmakers won’t pass it this session
Sonia Wood, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner, treats a patient at Carousel Pediatrics in Austin. Three million children are currently on Medicaid, but most of their parents do not qualify. Credit: Spencer Selvidge for the Texas Tribune
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Texas House votes down budget amendment aimed at giving health coverage to more uninsured Texans
The Texas House on Thursday rejected an attempt to direct the governor and state health officials to use billions in federal dollars to expand health care coverage for uninsured Texans, including working poor who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford their own health insurance.