MEDICAID

We're breaking down the news and providing an update on our investment outlook for Humana.

AdvertisementBrock Juarez, a spokesman for the Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, the agency overseeing the state’s Medicaid program, did not immediately return requests for comment. Gender-affirming care can, but does not always, include medical interventions. In April, 300 medical providers in the state wrote an open letter in the Tampa Bay Times criticizing the state’s guidance against gender-affirming care. An estimate from a 2019 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law showed there were about 9,000 people receiving gender-affirming care each year in Florida. AdvertisementMike Haller, a professor and chief of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Florida, said the decision to bar people from using Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care was “cruel and unusual punishment” for patients seeking safe, evidence-based care.

On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Jolie about the problems within the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and with Eleanor about the state’s efforts to expand postnatal Medicaid.

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.

The order will allow states who haven't banned abortion to apply for Medicaid waivers to help them treat women who've traveled from out of state.

A deal on Medicaid expansion in North Carolina is within reach after both legislative chambers passed competing measures before ending their annual session.

Those with special needs must shelter assets carefully to not be disqualified from government aid. That's where special needs trusts and ABLE accounts come in.

About half of all senior men and women living alone are either in poverty or struggle to afford essentials.

More than half of uninsured kids qualify for free coverage but don't know it. The government has released $49 million to get the word out, especially as the end of the COVID health emergency looms.

The Biden administration is warning pharmacies not to discriminate against women who may seek reproductive health prescriptions, including some that might be involved in ending a pregnancy.

The new program, which will take until 2024 to fully implement, will provide coverage for an additional 764,000 people.

California will be the first state to guarantee free health care for all low-income immigrants who are living in the country illegally.

California on Thursday became the first state to guarantee free health care for all low-income immigrants living in the country illegally, a move that will provide coverage for an additional 764,000 people at an eventual cost of about $2.7 billion a year. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $307.9 billion operating budget that pledges to make all low-income adults eligible for the state's Medicaid program by 2024 regardless of their immigration status. It’s a long-sought victory for health care and immigration activists, who have been asking for the change for more than a decade.

Pandemic-era spending to expand coverage won’t last forever. But Congress can smooth the transition to avoid a crisis.

A new public policy issue -- whether the federal government can find ways to help Americans access abortions now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned -- is running up against a long-time restriction on federal dollars. The Hyde Amendment, first enacted 45 years ago, and related provisions restrict the use of federal funds for abortions. It’s emerged as an obstacle to efforts to maintain abortion services for women in states that outlaw the procedure.

The owner of seven Louisiana nursing homes whose residents suffered in squalid conditions after being evacuated to a warehouse for Hurricane Ida has been arrested.

Medical debt can ruin lives, and in many states patients have few financial protections. North Carolina is considering a new law that could lead the way in shielding patients from high medical bills.

Companies including Tesla and Coinbase have announced layoffs. Losing your job and income is incredibly disruptive. Focusing on these first steps can help.

A 47-year-old Katy resident has been indicted for defrauding Medicaid of more than $600,000, a federal official said Wednesday.

The administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to make it easier to switch between government and private health plans.

Nearly 14 years after a Lee County girl was catastrophically injured when she was hit by a truck, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said Florida’s Medicaid program can recoup a chunk of the money it paid for her initial care.

Medicare recently announced it will effectively refuse to cover Aduhelm, the first FDA-approved Alzheimer’s disease treatment in two decades.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed into law measures intended to increase funding and improve staffing at nursing homes.

Whether we’re Black, White or Brown, mothers do what it takes to keep our families safe and cared for. As a Medicaid ambassador at La Unión del Pueblo Entero, I work with Latino immigrant mothers. I help them understand that Medicaid can help them give their family the care they need. But too many of the mothers I work with decide not to sign up for Medicaid or any other public program. As a Medicaid ambassador, I help them overcome these fears.

It's imperative that families shelter assets in special needs trusts to ensure impaired loved ones do not lose life-saving government financial support.

The federal emergency declaration is expected to last through at least mid-October and has kept states from dropping people from Medicaid rolls.

The proposal is simple: When expectant Texas moms get Medicaid, let them continue to keep that insurance until their baby’s first birthday.

The White House is looking for actions it can take to protect abortion rights, such as using Medicaid funds to transport women to clinics. But some warn its options are limited.

Debate over the waiver was key to the federal government’s push for Texas to expand Medicaid for more working poor.

The WA Cares Fund would help alleviate the financial burden of long-term care by providing workers a lifetime benefit of $36,500. The program was delayed while lawmakers addressed equity issues.

Though the majority of Medicaid recipients have smartphones, most states will rely on snail mail and email to tell people their coverage is at risk with the end of the COVID public health emergency.

Responding to long-standing problems that were made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, a bill approved late Thursday would increase payments to nursing homes and tie much of the increase to staffing levels and quality of care.

The bill would particularly target high-Medicaid, for-profit nursing home facilities, which make up 95% of all understaffed facilities in the state.

A major report says American nursing home residents are subjected to ineffective care and poor staffing, and that facility finances are shrouded in secrecy and regulatory lapses go unenforced.

The pandemic has overwhelmed understaffed state Medicaid agencies, and as Biden's COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ends, low-income people could find it even harder to get coverage.

"In my largely rural district, many people worked low-wage jobs and benefited from the program," Hurd said of the GOP bill, which slashed Medicaid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the end of the COVID-19 pandemic comes, it could create major disruptions for a cumbersome U.S.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

When the end of the COVID-19 pandemic comes, it could create major disruptions for U.S. health care.

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.

The good news is that no rural hospitals in Texas have closed in the last two years. The bad news? They’re still in crisis mode, and the state government is still struggling to find a remedy.

The money reimburses hospitals for the services they provide to Medicaid patients in Texas.

Good morning, Chicago. Here are some of the top stories you need to know to start your day.

Analysis: A health care problem too big for the Texas Legislature

Texas, unlike all but 11 other states, hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program. And it also hasn’t addressed the problem that’s supposed to help solve: The state’s worst-in-the-nation ranking for people without health insurance.

The 12 states holding out against Medicaid expansion are laggards in job-market strength and income growth. Even the ones that signed up late are doing better.

Mississippi has a high maternal mortality rate, but lawmakers killed a bill to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage.

Democrats who hoped they'd have transformational new health legislation in place by next year could instead be facing one of the largest increases in the U.S. uninsured rate in recent history.Why it matters: Temporary pandemic-era reforms to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces caused enrollment in each to swell, but these policy changes are due to end soon, and millions of people could lose their health coverage.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axi

Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated up to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access the funds due to delays and red tape.

States are set to start checking recipients' eligibility, pushing up to 15 million out of the federal health program.

COVID-19 numbers are plummeting statewide, but on Texas’ southern border with Mexico, Laredo is still battling its fourth surge.

The pandemic exposed how old-school tech hampers access to health care and other public services. With new federal funding, states finally have a way to upgrade, if they seize the opportunity.

A federal mandate requires staffers at health care facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding to have a least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

There's a federal mandate for staffers at healthcare facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding to have a least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

A federal mandate requires staffers at health care facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding to have a least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

President Joe Biden says 14.5 million Americans got private health insurance for this year under the Obama-era health law, thanks to help from his administration.

While some couples "spend down" their assets to qualify for Medicaid, another option may be an annuity that converts assets into income.

An emergency pandemic policy under the Trump and Biden administrations has led to more people covered by Medicaid in Texas, a state that has long refused to expand coverage. But it's unclear how long those protections will last.

Two of three candidates in the Texas Senate District 27 Republican primary race took part in a forum hosted by the citizen group Futuro RGV on Jan. 19.

Biden's lengthy second news conference included some errant facts and claims without context.

Two rulings reveal just how hard-conservative the core of the Court is.

AUSTIN (AP) — Texas wants Planned Parenthood to return more than $10 million in payments for low-income patients under a lawsuit filed Thursday, years after Republican leaders moved to cut off Medicai[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to claw back Medicaid payments made during the three years that Planned Parenthood was fighting in court to remain as a qualified health care provider.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Biden administration's rule for OSHA, saying it did not have the power to require vaccination for millions of Americans.

Medicaid's transportation contracts can be worth tens of millions for companies that land them. But patients say rides to and from medical care often show up late — or sometimes not at all.

Medicaid expansion would insure many more Texans and bring billions of federal dollars. But, the effect to the state's economy would be even greater.

With annual adjustments pushing some costs higher, experts say it's important to consider how the changes will affect your household spending.

The U.S. government has approved California's overhaul of the nation's largest insurance program for low-income and disabled residents, officials said Wednesday, a decision that among other things allows Medicaid money to be spent on housing-related services as the most populous state struggles with homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. CalAIM — California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal — intends a more comprehensive approach that improves the "entire continuum of care” across the program that California calls Medi-Cal, according to the California Department of Health Care Services. Starting with the new year Saturday, California will among other things expand what had been a limited “whole person care pilot program" to eligible Medi-Cal members statewide.

A government report says U.S. health care spending rocketed to $4.1 trillion last year as Congress opened the spigot of federal dollars to battle the coronavirus pandemic across multiple fronts.

Direct certification makes it easier for children from low-income households to receive free and reduced-price school meals.

At least 770,000 Texans are ineligible for both Medicaid and health insurance subsidies through the state-run marketplaces.

Medicaid issues are turning up as winners in President Joe Biden’s social budget framework even as divisions force Democrats to hit pause on far-reaching improvements to Medicare.

The political organization led by Democratic titan Stacey Abrams is branching out into paying off medical debts.

The Democrats’ social spending and climate change bill would put the United States back on a path to reducing its persistent pool of uninsured people.

Democrats are fretting about how they’d divide a shrinking pie amid signs that negotiations over President Joe Biden’s massive domestic policy bill could yield a smaller serving of health care spending.

House Democrats said Friday they planned to take action next week to suspend the cap on the government’s borrowing authority.

President Joe Biden says nearly 3 million consumers took advantage of a special six-month period to sign up for subsidized health insurance coverage made more affordable by his COVID-19 relief law.

The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, gives new mothers six months of postpartum Medicaid coverage instead of two. That’s less than many advocates and some lawmakers wanted.

California may become the first state to pay drug addicts to stay sober.

The agreement was set to expire next year after federal health officials rescinded the Trump administration's 10-year extension to the 1115 waiver agreement.

Connecticut has become the latest state to mandate that workers in nursing homes be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Illinois is leading a handful of Democratic-run states in extending health insurance coverage to adult immigrants living in the country illegally, including seniors.

Three Democratic U.S. senators from states that have refused to expand Medicaid want the federal government to set up a mirror plan to provide health insurance coverage to people in those states.

The bill would let counties and cities apply to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for funds that were declined by their states.

The bill would add an extra four months of health insurance for low-income women, who now get Medicaid coverage from pregnancy until two months after delivery. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott for signature.

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.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its decision to rescind the Trump administration's extension of the so-called 1115 waiver.

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.

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.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has dropped plans to expand the state's Medicaid program after the Legislature declined to provide money for a measure approved by voters.

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

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.

Medicaid is the health care safety net for millions of Americans.

President Joe Biden has proposed a major expansion of the government’s role in long-term care, but questions are being raised over his use of the low-income Medicaid program and piggybacking the whole idea on an infrastructure bill.

The government says more than a half million Americans have already taken advantage of the Biden administration’s special health insurance sign-up window that's keyed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, the COVID-19 relief bill is offering states a generous funding boost for home- and community-based care as an alternative to institutionalizing disabled people. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)WASHINGTON – With the memory of the pandemic's toll in nursing homes still raw, the COVID-19 relief law is offering states a generous funding boost for home- and community-based care as an alternative to institutionalizing disabled people. As it has grown to cover about 1 in 5 Americans, it's also become the nation's default long-term care program, although qualifying is often an arduous process. While the federal government requires state Medicaid programs to cover nursing home care for low-income people, that's not the case for home- and community-based support services. For now, states and advocates for the disabled are awaiting guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on how the money in the COVID-19 law can be spent.

We talk about COVID Relief, efforts to reach bipartisan agreements, the immigration crisis at the border and Republican efforts to revamp voting rights in states across the country, on this week’s Houston Newsmakers and here on Newsmakers EXTRA with Rep. Lizzie Fletcher. They never lost their job.”Congressman Dan Crenshaw, (R) 2nd says the American Rescue Plan is overloaded with spending not needed. “Is this really fair?” he said on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall. Also this week, the challenge of working across the aisle on other issues such as infrastructure and his highest priorities local on Newsmakers EXTRA with Rep. Dan Crenshaw. More Information:Chief Art Acevedo, Houston Police Chief· Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/police/chief/· Twitter: @ArtAcevedoU.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D), 7th Congressional DistrictAd· Website: https://fletcher.house.gov/· Twitter: @RepFletcherU.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R), 2nd Congressional· Website: https://crenshaw.house.gov/· Twitter: @RepDanCrenshaw