Florida to bar Medicaid coverage for those seeking gender-affirming care
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.
washingtonpost.comState, 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.
California first to cover health care for all immigrants
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.
news.yahoo.comThe Legal Obstacle to Federal Abortion Efforts After Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Ruling
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.
washingtonpost.comU.S. Supreme Court rules for Florida, against victim in dispute over Medicaid funding
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.
news.yahoo.comLetters: Promote Medicaid
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.
myrgv.comIllinois lawmakers approve sweeping changes to nursing home funding meant to increase staffing and improve care
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.
chicagotribune.comAnalysis: 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.
The end of the pandemic could usher in a spike in the uninsured rate
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
news.yahoo.comTexas Medicaid rolls grew by more than 1 million people during the pandemic – Houston Public Media
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.
houstonpublicmedia.orgTexas sues Planned Parenthood over $10M in Medicaid payments
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]
sanmarcosrecord.comFederal government approves California's Medicaid overhaul
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.
news.yahoo.comTexas 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Medicaid expansion, federal coronavirus aid could spur legislative fights as Texas House debates $246 billion state budget
Medicaid expansion picks up bipartisan support in the Texas House, but hurdles remain
Republican state House speaker backs expanding Medicaid to cover mothers for a year after they give birth
COVID-19 law sparks dialogue on nursing home alternatives
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.
Houston Newsmakers: Acevedo heading to Miami
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