Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
ACA Medicaid Expansion Cut Young Adult Uninsurance in Half
The number of uninsured young adults fell nearly 50 percent after the Affordable Care Act authorized states to expand their Medicaid programs, a new study has found. According to the Urban Institute, the uninsured rate among people between the ages of 19 and 25 fell from 30.2 percent to 16 percent between 2011 and 2018, with most of the decline coming between 2013 and 2016, when the first round of states expanded their Medicaid programs. The decline in the rate of uninsured young adults mirrored declines in the overall U.S. [...]
Hospitals Starting to Comply With Price Transparency Requirement
One out of every three hospitals is in full compliance with a federal mandate to post payer rates publicly and transparently. And many others are partially in compliance with the federal requirement that took effect on January . Full compliance requires that the postings are machine-readable and include payer-negotiated rates for 300 “shoppable services.” 2000 of 6000 hospitals are already meeting four of five federal criteria and about 20 percent appear to be on their way to doing so. Hospitals began working to comply with the new federal mandate when [...]
GAO Looks at “Medicaid in Times of Crisis”
The federal government often turns to Medicaid to address problems, mitigate damage, and serve vulnerable populations, especially in times of crisis. In a new issue brief, the U.S. Government Accountability Office looks at examples of how states and the federal government have turned to Medicaid in times of crisis and some of the policy considerations underlying those actions. Find these examples in the new GAO report “Medicaid in Times of Crisis.”
Administration Continues Dismantling Medicaid Work Requirements
A week after announcing that it was withdrawing permission for states to implement approved Medicaid work requirements and would no longer entertain applications to introduce such programs, the Biden administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to cancel arguments next month on the legality of such requirements. As reported in SCOTUSblog, That argument is no longer necessary, Biden’s acting solicitor general, Elizabeth Prelogar, told the justices in a seven-page motion on Monday. The Biden administration has “preliminarily determined” that work requirements do not serve Medicaid’s goals, Prelogar wrote. Arkansas, one [...]
Coronavirus Update for Monday, February 22
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, February 22. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its FAQ on Medicare COVID-19 billing issues with 13 new questions addressing vaccines, monoclonal antibody treatments, and ambulatory surgery centers functioning as acute-care hospitals during the public health emergency. The questions, all labeled “2/19/2021,” can be found on pages 27-28, 135-137, and 152-153. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with an updated question about [...]