Affordable Care Act

CMS Adopts Methodology for Medicaid DSH Cuts

Medicaid DSH money will be allocated among states based on a new methodology under a regulation adopted this week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But it is not clear when that new methodology may actually be used. Cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (Medicaid DSH) allotments to states were mandated by the Affordable Care Act based on the expectation that the law would greatly reduced the number of uninsured Americans. While this has been the case, the decline in the number of uninsured has not been as great as expected. For this reason, Congress has on several [...]

iqtsupport2019-09-25T10:47:09-04:00September 25, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments|

Millions Eligible for Health Insurance Remain Uninsured

More than 15 million Americans who are currently entitled to free or subsidized health insurance are currently uninsured. Among them are 11 million who are eligible for Medicaid but have not applied for benefits and 4.2 million who could afford insurance with the help of federal premium subsidies and either have decided not to take advantage of those subsidies or are unaware of the availability of such subsidies. In addition, another two million people would be eligible for Medicaid if their states expanded their Medicaid program as authorized by the Affordable Care Act. In light of such figures, it is [...]

iqtsupport2019-09-16T06:00:48-04:00September 16, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

ACA Has Reduced Insurance Disparities

The Affordable Care Act is responsible for a major reduction in the disparity of insurance status among racial and ethnic minorities. According to a new Commonwealth Fund analysis, All U.S. racial and ethnic groups saw comparable, proportionate declines in uninsured rates… However, because uninsured rates started off much higher among Hispanic and black non-Hispanic adults than among white non-Hispanic adults, the coverage gap between blacks and whites declined from 11.0 percentage points in 2013 to 5.3 percentage points in 2017. Likewise, the coverage gap between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites dropped from 25.4 points to 16.6 points. Learn more about specific [...]

iqtsupport2019-08-23T11:40:37-04:00August 23, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

Uninsured Rate Rose in 2017

The rate of uninsured Americans rose in 2017, the first such increase since implementation of the Affordable Care Act. According to a new Urban Institute study, The increasing uninsurance rate between 2016 and 2017 was driven by losses of private nongroup coverage, such as that purchased in the health insurance marketplaces, and decreases in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage (-0.4 percentage points each). In addition, Overall, coverage losses were concentrated in the 19 states that did not expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act by July 1, 2017…Between 2016 and 2017, uninsurance held stable in Medicaid [...]

iqtsupport2019-08-21T10:58:26-04:00August 21, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

Medicaid Rolls Could Include Too Many People in Some States

Some states appear to have more Medicaid participants than they do individuals who meet the program’s income eligibility requirements. Or so suggests a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. According to the study, an analysis of nine states that expanded their Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act found 800,000 more Medicaid participants than it did individuals who meet Medicaid’s income eligibility criteria. The study acknowledges that the actual numbers may not be as great because some people qualify for Medicaid based on disabilities and factors other than income. Learn more in the National Bureau of Economic [...]

iqtsupport2019-08-19T11:39:18-04:00August 19, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

ACA’s Medicaid Pay Bump Helped But Benefits Now Lost, Study Says

Health status and access to care improved for Medicaid patients when the Affordable Care Act mandated a temporary rate increase for physicians serving newly insured patients covered through that law’s Medicaid expansion. But when the mandate for increased physician payments ended and state Medicaid programs reverted to their previous, lower payments, many of those benefits were lost. Or so reports a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. According to the study, even a $10 rate increase improved access to care enough to reduce by 13 percent Medicaid recipients’ complaints about not being about to find a doctor. [...]

iqtsupport2019-07-24T06:00:47-04:00July 24, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

CMS Chief Criticizes Health Care Proposals

In an address to the Better Medicare Alliance 2019 Medicare Advantage Summit, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma criticized Medicare for All proposals, said Medicare “public option” proposals are no better, and called the Affordable Care Act a failure,. Verma also insisted that greater reliance on market forces would improve Medicare and Medicaid, said the 340B prescription drug program is harming the health care system, and called for a reduction of federal regulations that limit how and where people can receive care. She said reduced regulations have spurred hundreds of new plans to participate in the Medicare [...]

iqtsupport2019-07-23T10:10:59-04:00July 23, 2019|340b, Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations|

ACA Tied to Reduced Disparities in Cancer Care

Improved access to health insurance has led to reduced racial disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As reported by the Washington Post, According to researchers involved in the racial-disparity study, before the ACA went into effect, African Americans with advanced cancer were 4.8 percentage points less likely to start treatment for their disease within 30 days of being given a diagnosis. But today, black adults in states that expanded Medicaid under the law have almost entirely caught up with white patients in getting timely treatment, researchers said. Another study found that since the reform law’s implementation in Medicaid [...]

iqtsupport2019-06-10T06:00:04-04:00June 10, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

More Medicaid Matching Funds for Only Partial Medicaid Expansion?

The federal government is considering providing an unusual amount of federal Medicaid matching funding for only partial state Medicaid expansion. At least that’s what Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma told a health care conference in Georgia last week. The state of Georgia has proposes partially expanding its Medicaid population. Under the Affordable Care Act, states that fully expand their Medicaid programs under the terms established by the 2010 health care law receive nine dollars in federal matching funds for every one dollar they spend on their Medicaid expansion population. States that only partially expand their Medicaid [...]

iqtsupport2019-05-15T06:00:11-04:00May 15, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid|

CMS Solicits Waiver Input From Stakeholders

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is soliciting ideas from stakeholders about new approaches that might be employed in the development of state relief and empowerment waivers, also known as section 1332 waivers. Last year CMS loosened section 1332 waiver requirements and offered states four concepts for how to take advantage of both the waivers and the less stringent requirements. Section 1332 waivers permit states to seek exemption from selected requirements of the Affordable Care Act to pursue new approaches to enhancing access to quality, affordable health insurance. Through a new request for information, CMS now seeks …to build [...]

iqtsupport2019-05-06T06:00:32-04:00May 6, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health care reform|