Medicaid

Two States Left in Play on Medicaid Expansion for 2016

Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 02:19 PM

Last week, two states rejected Medicaid expansion, another is continuing negotiations with Washington and one is studying whether and how to continue expansion already in place and reduce the numbers of people eligible. Currently 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded income eligibility for Medicaid as provided for by the Affordable Care Act. Sixteen states remain firmly in the non-expansion column.

First Executive Order Signed by La. Gov. Edwards Expands Medicaid

Debra Miller

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 03:55 PM

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, John Bel Edwards signed his first executive order as Louisiana’s new governor to expand Medicaid eligibility to an estimated 300,000 individuals. The expansion is to be effective no later than July 1, 2016 according to the order.

Louisiana becomes the 31^st state (plus DC) to expand Medicaid income eligibility as permitted by the Affordable Care Act.

South Dakota, Feds Work Toward Plan to Expand Health Care Access

Debra Miller

Monday, January 11, 2016 at 01:45 PM

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard may find that the third time is the charm as he negotiates with the federal government to live up to its treaty obligations to provide health services to the state’s Native Americans. Twice before in recent state history, governors have tried and failed to solve the longstanding problem, which results in a massive cost shift to state revenues to pay for health care for many Native Americans. In his Dec. 8, 2015, budget address in Pierre, S.D., Daugaard proposed that should the federal government fulfill its obligation to provide health services to Native Americans, the state would use the projected $67 million annual savings to the state to finance the cost of Medicaid expansion.

Top 5 Issues for 2016: Health

Debra Miller

Monday, January 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM

CSG Director of Health Policy Debra Miller outlines the top five issues in health policy for 2016, including Medicaid expansion, substance abuse and drug overdoses, cost containment, the graying of America, and population health.

Top 5 Health Issues Facing States in 2016

Debra Miller

Monday, January 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM

#1 Medicaid Expansion

Thirty states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid eligibility to 138 percent of the federal poverty level as allowed by the Affordable Care Act, and they will be required to contribute matching funds beginning Jan. 1, 2017. This means that legislatures in those states will have to appropriate state funds during their budget sessions in 2016.

The federal funding will decrease from covering 100 percent of the newly eligible...

Top 5 Issues for 2016: Fiscal and Economic Development

Jennifer Burnett

Monday, January 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM

CSG Director of Fiscal and Economic Development Policy Jennifer Burnett outlines the top five issues for 2016, including strategic decisions following modest revenue growth, workforce development, public pensions, federal instability, and health care costs.

Medicaid Expansion and Section 1115 Wavers

Debra Miller

Friday, December 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM

No state can ignore the challenge of controlling the cost of health care, estimated to reach one-fifth of GDP by 2020. Medicaid budget growth continues to strain states’ abilities to grow program priorities in other arenas. The uncertainty of federal commitment to current Medicaid matching formulas is exacerbated by the 2016 election. Promising state strategies to control costs of health care generally and Medicaid specifically were explored.

South Dakota mulls Medicaid expansion; federal waiver possible

Tim Anderson

Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 11:47 AM

South Dakota leaders are taking steps this fall to become the Midwest’s eighth state to expand Medicaid access under the Affordable Care Act. According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the planned expansion would add 48,500 residents to the public health insurance program.

One in Two of Uninsured Missing Out on Financial Assistance

Debra Miller

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 01:15 PM

The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report Oct. 13 with state by state estimates of the uninsured. Nationally, 32.3 million non-elderly persons are uninsured, but one half of that number is missing out on Medicaid or CHIP eligibility in...

Rising Prescription Drug Costs Point to Drug Pricing Reform

Samantha-Jane Harris

Monday, October 5, 2015 at 01:06 PM

On Sept. 21, news that Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of a 62-year-old drug by 4,000 percent overnight made headlines. The drug, Daraprim, is critical to the care of HIV and AIDS patients. The sharp rise in price from $18 to $750 per pill is part of the all-too-familiar trend of drug-price spiking in the United States and highlights concerns about the sustainability of health care.

Medicaid

South Dakota leaders are taking steps this fall to become the Midwest’s eighth state to expand Medicaid access under the Affordable Care Act. According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the planned expansion would add 48,500 residents to the public health insurance program.

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