MEDICAID

Indiana lawmakers are exploring various options for expanded contraceptive access following an abortion ban in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade.

The state failed to show the need to subject children to the two-hour evaluations

Many people are expected to lose their free health insurance in Pennsylvania as the pandemic-era prohibition against kicking people off Medicaid is set to end.

Michele Eberle, the executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, said that beginning in May, the state can start ending Medicaid coverage for people who no longer qualify. Maryland, she added, is in a better position to reach people than many other states to either continue Medicaid coverage or move them into other health plans. The program offers health care coverage to roughly 90 million children and adults — or 1 out of every 4 Americans. “We’ve had the largest number of folks put into Medicaid during this COVID (pandemic)," Eberle told Maryland Senate’s Finance Committee. The Maryland Department of Health will be partnering with Maryland Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, the health exchange, the Maryland Department of Human Services and the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients.

Maryland officials are preparing for as many as 80,000 residents who could no longer qualify for Medicaid coverage this spring.

Maryland officials are preparing for as many as 80,000 residents who could no longer qualify for Medicaid coverage this spring, as the federal government reinstates a requirement that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic for states to verify the eligibility of recipients. Michele Eberle, the executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, said that beginning in May, the state can start ending Medicaid coverage for people who no longer qualify. Maryland, she added, is in a better position to reach people than many other states to either continue Medicaid coverage or move them into other health plans.

A federal judge has demanded the state of Florida show evidence proving that gender affirming care is not safe, as LGBT advocates fight to get surgeries covered by Medicaid.

Millions of low-income Americans are at risk of losing health coverage, threatening their access to medical care.

A newly released report from the Mississippi State Department of Health finds that an increasing number of mothers in the state have died in recent years due to pregnancy complications.

Since Medicaid was established, federal law has prohibited Medicaid money from being used for people who are in custody, with inmates having access to their health care coverage suspended. California state officials said Thursday that they hope some inmates will begin accessing services through Medicaid starting in 2024. Incarcerated people will be screened and assessed for eligibility to access the state's Medicaid program. It will take at least two years to roll out the program in all the state's prisons, said Jacey Cooper, the state's Medicaid director. People who are leaving prison, jail or juvenile detention often don't know where to start with getting medical care, Wachino said.

In a story published Jan. 26, 2023, about the federal government allowing Medicaid dollars to treat some California prison inmates, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the Health and Reentry Project is at the Commonwealth Fund.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — A record 16.3 million people sought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, double the number covered when the marketplaces first launched nearly a decade ago, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. More than 3 million new members joined the marketplace, also known as “Obamacare,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The boost in enrollment comes as the number of uninsured people is at an all-time low — just 8% of those in the United States remain without coverage. Those breaks on coverages were extended through 2025 under a major climate and health care bill championed by Democrats last year. Some of those who will lose Medicaid are expected to transition to the marketplace, and the administration said it is spending $12 million to keep information specialists on the job in the coming months to help people enroll in the health law's marketplace if they lose Medicaid coverage.

The government says a record 16.3 million people sought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year.

The DeSantis administration seeks a court order to perform “mental examinations” of 12-year-old plaintiffs in lawsuit on trans rights.

In the first quarter of 2022, the uninsured rate dropped to an all-time low of 8%, according to the report.

A Mississippi orthopedic clinic has agreed to pay $1.87 million settlement. A health care provider at the company allegedly submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

A 2019 federal report said seven states at that time, which were not listed, required prior authorization before Medicaid would cover abortion services. The proposed rule would only allow physicians — not physician assistants or advanced practice nurses — to provide Medicaid-funded abortion care. “This will really inappropriately limit the provision of abortion care to physicians,” said Martha Fuller, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana. “Abortion care is essential, medically necessary care,” Weems wrote. It's not clear based on the proposed rule how long the prior authorization process would take or who would make the decisions.

Advocates for universal healthcare say the current U.S. healthcare system is ineffective, costly, and riddled with racial disparities — a point local advocates plan to...

“This will really inappropriately limit the provision of abortion care to physicians,” said Martha Fuller, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana. “It is the department's practice to require prior authorization especially when there may be questions as to whether the service is medically necessary,” the proposed rule states. “Abortion care is essential, medically necessary care,” Weems wrote. The prior authorization requirement would not apply to treatments for incomplete abortions, miscarriages or septic abortions, it states. It's not clear based on the proposed rule how long the prior authorization process would take or who would make the decisions.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made concessions to far-right GOP members to win his seat, which likely include cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

With children’s hospital beds increasingly hard to come by, the US needs a more sustainable strategy for handling pediatric illnesses.

Sixty-six of Florida's 67 counties don't have enough dentists to provide necessary care

Opponents of abortion are promoting expanded Medicaid coverage, which many conservative states have opposed because it was tied to Obamacare.

Recently passed government spending bill allows states to kick people off the program as early as April.

Professors and other plaintiffs are urging a federal appeals court to keep in place a preliminary injunction against a new Florida law that seeks to restrict the way race-related concepts can be taught in universities.

Recently passed government spending bill allows states to kick people off the program as early as April.

The spending bill moving through Congress allows states to kick people off the program as early as April.

A national average hourly wage of $17.05 is forcing many EMTs out of their jobs.

Under the funding bill, states could start reviewing people's Medicaid eligibility on April 1 and terminate their coverage if they no longer meet requirements.

The legislation will sunset a requirement of the COVID-19 public health emergency that prohibited states from booting people off Medicaid.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Millions of people who enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic could start to lose their coverage on April 1 if Congress passes the $1.7 trillion spending package leaders unveiled Tuesday. The legislation will sunset a requirement of the COVID-19 public health emergency that prohibited states from booting people off Medicaid. Millions are expected to be bumped from the program, which grants health care coverage to nearly 80 million low-income people throughout the country. Many will be eligible for health insurance coverage through employers, the Affordable Care Act or, in the case of kids, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Under the proposal, the restrictions that once tightly governed telehealth care under Medicare will stay loosened through the end of 2024.

Millions of people who enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic could start to lose their insurance plans by April 1 if Congress passes the $1.7 trillion spending package leaders unveiled Tuesday.

Millions of people who enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic could start to lose their coverage on April 1 if Congress passes the $1.7 trillion spending package leaders unveiled Tuesday. The legislation will sunset a requirement of the COVID-19 public health emergency that prohibited states from booting people off Medicaid. The Biden administration has been under mounting pressure to declare the public health emergency over, with 25 Republican governors asking the president to end it in a letter on Monday, which cited growing concerns about bloated Medicaid enrollment.

Dr. Monique Brotman allegedly billed Medicaid $58,747.57 for ultrasounds and other services that were never provided, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office said.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to agree to overturn decades of precedent in a case about civil rights lawsuits, a result that would preserve the ability of individuals to use federal law to sue. The justices were told that result could leave tens of millions of people who have rights under federal programs including Medicare and Medicaid without access to the courts. The court is being asked to answer whether a person can use Section 1983 to go to court with claims their rights under the nursing home act are violated. Biden administration lawyer Benjamin Snyder told the court that Congress did not intend to allow Section 1983 lawsuits when it enacted the nursing home legislation. A trial court dismissed the case, but a federal court of appeals said it could proceed.

The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a call to overturn decades of precedent and limit the ability of individuals to use federal civil rights law to sue.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to agree to overturn decades of precedent in a case about civil rights lawsuits, a result that would preserve the ability of individuals to use federal law to sue. The justices had been asked to use a case about a nursing home resident who claimed a violation of his rights to more broadly limit the right to sue. The justices were told that result could leave tens of millions of people who have rights under federal programs including Medicare and Medicaid without access to the courts.

Three health-care groups this week challenged how the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is carrying out a requirement that “direct care” workers get paid...

An Indiana man's family sued a state-owned nursing home for alleged mistreatment. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case could determine the right of many Americans to sue government agencies.

A job loss can be traumatic, setting off a myriad of financial problems. But taking the right steps can help reduce the disruptiveness.

Brian Kemp's case for reelection against Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams, arguing that Kemp has been good for Georgia's economy and Abrams is soft on crime. Brian Kemp," Pence told about 150 people in Cumming, part of a belt of Republican-dominated Atlanta exurbs key to Kemp's reelection. Chris Christie, will spotlight Kemp's campaign in the closing days of advance voting and ahead of what the GOP hopes is a surge of Election Day ballots. “We’ve been doing good in this day because we have been saying no to Stacey Abrams,” Kemp said, speaking in the parking lot of a cigar bar in heavily Republican Forsyth County. “Brian Kemp is aggressively undermining, dismantling and harming the provision of health care in the state of Georgia,” Abrams said.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is supporting Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as he makes his closing argument Tuesday for a second term over Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams.

In the pandemic, the government allowed millions of children to stay on Medicaid — no need to have an adult re-enroll them every year. But that may end soon, and many kids could lose their coverage.

Next month, South Dakotans will decide whether to expand Medicaid to 42,500 state residents. Democratic candidates elsewhere are making it a part of their pitch to flip GOP-held governors' offices.

Since maternal care is limited, he said, most women rely on family physicians for obstetric care. In this year's report, the nonprofit found a 2% increase in the number of counties that are considered maternity care deserts, compared with a study completed in 2020. “That’s [an additional] 1,119 counties and an additional 15,933 women with no maternity care,” the 2022 study stated. Rural areas make up the most maternity care deserts in the country. As the number of maternity care deserts increases nationwide, advocates are calling for change to protect the maternal care of women.

When the public health emergency does end, HHS estimates up to 15 million people will be disenrolled from Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Polls routinely show people trust Democrats over Republicans on health care, and we've talked to voters about why. Here's what we concluded.

Using the debt ceiling as leverage to try and extract cuts to Medicare and Medicaid is exactly what House Republicans did in 2011.

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to issue a preliminary injunction to block a new state rule preventing Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming treatments for transgender...

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to issue a preliminary injunction to block a new state rule preventing Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming treatments for transgender people, saying plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate “irreparable harm.”

Integrating mental health into primary care could help increase access to behavioral health services.

President Biden signed an executive order in August that encouraged the use of Medicaid resources to bolster abortion access following the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

The suit was filed on behalf of 11 nursing homes residents anonymously named as John or Jane Doe. They range in age from 26 to 82, and are all on Medicaid.

The impromptu remarks in a 60 Minutes interview may complicate the White House’s struggle to secure additional funding for covid vaccines, tests and treatments.

The Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare historic new powers to limit prescription drug prices. But the pharmaceutical industry is already lobbying to dull their impact.

Nationally, about 8.6% of people were uninsured last year, according to data from the Census’ American Community Survey.

Child poverty is at a historic low, according to Census bureau data, and the rate of those without health insurance dropped in 2021. But the good news may be short-lived, as policy measures expire.

Until this month, Medicaid paid for August Dekker’s testosterone treatments which allowed the transgender man from Florida’s Gulf Coast to feel like he was living in his own skin.

Florida's Medicaid exclusion comes amid a larger effort across the country to roll back access to transition care, particularly for transgender youth.

States around the country are making it easier for newborn moms to keep Medicaid in the year after childbirth, a crucial time when depression and other health problems can develop.

Alma Fletcher turned to News 6 and Make Ends Meet for help securing a working electric hospital bed for her 25-year-old paralyzed daughter.

LGBTQ and health groups have denounced a new rule by Florida health officials set to take effect later this month to restrict Medicaid insurance coverage for gender dysphoria treatments for transgender people.

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

A group of academics from Yale University and other schools says a plan by Florida health officials that likely would restrict Medicaid insurance coverage for gender dysphoria treatments for transgender people lacks any sound medical justification.

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.

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

The DeSantis administration took another step forward with its proposal to eliminate Medicaid coverage for transgender treatments.

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.

A home health aide employee was arrested on Tuesday after lying about spending time with a disabled Medicaid recipient, according to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issued a report Thursday that could set the stage for the Medicaid program to deny coverage for treatments such as puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy for transgender people.

Since the health industry is always evolving, making the right choice when it comes to your health insurance can be difficult.

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.

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

The requirements, which apply to providers that take part in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, will start to take effect Thursday in Florida.

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.

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.

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

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.

Karen Williams of the state Medicaid office said Florida wants a 30-day extension, which would give the state until July 12 to submit a plan to the federal government.

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.

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.

Henry McMaster remains firmly opposed to the Medicaid expansion. The bump in federal funding would last two years for the states that join the Medicaid expansion. Laura Kelley this year called for legalizing medical use of marijuana and using the tax revenue to pay for expanding Medicaid. "It’s a nonstarter, and we will continue to oppose the liberal wish list item of Medicaid expansion,” he said. Kay Ivey left open the possibility of expanding Medicaid at some point in the future, but there are no plans to do so.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court said Thursday it has called off upcoming arguments over a Trump administration plan to remake Medicaid by requiring recipients to work, agreeing to a request from the Biden administration. But the Biden administration already has decided preliminarily that work requirements do not fit with Medicaid's goal of providing health care to lower-income people. AdOther cases involved Trump administration immigration policies and a fight over unreleased portions of grand jury documents from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The high court had in December agreed to review lower-court decisions involving Arkansas and New Hampshire that found that the Trump administration’s support for work requirements went beyond what’s allowed by law. Arkansas had opposed the Biden administration’s request that the cases be dropped.

Labor and delivery are thought of as the riskiest times for new mothers, but many women die in the months after giving birth. The legislation gives states the option of extending Medicaid coverage to women with low to modest incomes for a full year after childbirth. Maternal health advisory groups in 19 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, and Washington to Tennessee, have recommended such an extension. AdSome Republicans who disdain the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package say they would like to see the maternal health provisions made permanent. “We must strive to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce maternal mortality,” said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, who cosponsored legislation with Kelly, the Chicago Democrat, in the last Congress.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court not to hear arguments in two cases on its March calendar about the Trump administration's plan to remake Medicaid by requiring recipients to work. The Biden administration has been moving to roll back those Trump-era plans and cited “greatly changed circumstances” in asking Monday that the cases be dropped from the court's argument calendar. The high court had in December agreed to review lower-court decisions involving Arkansas and New Hampshire that found that the Trump administration’s support for work requirements went beyond what’s allowed by law. Medicaid is a $600 billion federal-state program that covers about 70 million people, from pregnant women and newborns to disabled people and nursing home residents. Under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, states gained the option of expanding the program to many low-income adults previously ineligible.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is moving to roll back Medicaid work requirements in its latest effort to undo a controversial Trump-era policy. Federal health officials planned Friday to inform 10 states that they would revoke permissions granted by the Trump administration to impose such requirements, according to a Biden official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. Officials were also set to withdraw the past administration’s invitation for states to apply for approval for work requirements. AdThe Trump administration allowed states to require “able-bodied” adults drawing Medicaid benefits to work, volunteer or study. Before the pandemic, nearly 20 states had tried to implement requirements after the administration invited them in 2018 to submit such proposals.

Kelly championed Medicaid expansion in her first race in 2018 and promised to sign legislation legalizing medical marijuana, though she has not pushed that issue aggressively so far. But University of Kansas political scientist Patrick Miller said he wonders why any Kansas politician still opposes medical marijuana. The Legislature has taken only relatively small steps toward legalizing medical marijuana even as most other states have done it. She said legalizing medical marijuana could raise up to $50 million a year and her proposal “eliminates the argument” that Kansas can't afford Medicaid expansion. AdBut Republican lawmakers remained skeptical that medical marijuana could raise much money or cover Medicaid expansion costs.

AdThe Biden administration has ample resources for marketing, said Karen Pollitz, a health insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “The reason it wasn’t spent is the Trump administration spent its time in office cutting services that support consumer enrollment,” Pollitz said. He cited a Trump policy that allows employers to provide tax-free money for workers to buy individual plans. AdThe idea of reopening Obamacare's health insurance markets in the pandemic has had broad support from consumer, medical, and business organizations. As the number of uninsured Americans grew because of job losses in the pandemic, the Trump administration resisted calls to reopen HealthCare.gov.

Biden is expected to sign an executive order Thursday, said two people familiar with the plan, whose details were still being finalized. AdThe White House had no comment on Biden's expected order, but the two people familiar with the plan said the new enrollment period would not go into effect immediately. Coverage is available to people who don't have job-based health insurance, with the Medicaid expansion geared to those with low incomes. AdOpening the insurance markets is also likely to result in higher Medicaid enrollment, since people who qualify for that program are automatically referred. Biden’s expected order was first reported by The Washington Post.

President Joe Biden holds his face mask as he delivers remarks on COVID-19, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Joe Biden plans to reopen the HealthCare.gov insurance markets for a special sign-up opportunity geared to people needing coverage in the coronavirus pandemic. Biden is expected to sign an executive order Thursday, said two people familiar with the plan, whose details were still being finalized. Coverage is available to people who don't have job-based health insurance, with the Medicaid expansion geared to those with low incomes. “President Biden does not believe, as a principle, it should be difficult ... for people to gain access to health care,” she said.