Congress

The Implications of Eliminating the ACA Medicaid Expansion Matching Rate

When the Affordable Care Act was adopted in 2010 it offered a powerful incentive for states to expand their Medicaid program: the federal government would pick up 90 percent of the cost of covering each state’s expansion population. Over the years, 40 of the 50 states have taken advantage of these terms to expand their Medicaid programs, resulting in a significant increase in both Medicaid enrollment and how much the federal government spends on Medicaid. Now, policymakers are considering ending that incentive, leaving the 40 states with a difficult choice: to pick up the additional cost themselves or reverse their [...]

joe2025-02-13T17:13:28-05:00February 18, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Congress, Medicaid|

Medicaid Expansion in Jeopardy?

The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion resulted in 40 of the 50 states (and the District of Columbia) expanding their Medicaid programs because of the health reform law’s promise of additional federal funding to help pay for care for the expansion population. But now, with Congress and the new administration contemplating spending cuts that may include reductions in the federal financial commitment to Medicaid, a number of states may soon reverse those Medicaid expansions. Expansion repeal efforts are already underway in Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota. Nine states – Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and [...]

joe2025-02-11T16:11:32-05:00February 12, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Congress, Medicaid|

The Potential Impact of Medicaid Work Requirements

Many policymakers in Washington, D.C. are again talking about imposing work requirements on the Medicaid population. Limited work requirements were imposed during the late 2010s in some states, although many were overturned by the courts. But as policymakers consider such requirements again, a natural question is what kind of difference work requirements might make. According to recent data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, not as great a difference as many might suspect. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, In 2023, most Medicaid adults under age 65 were working (Figure 1). Among adults under age 65 with Medicaid who [...]

joe2025-02-06T16:18:44-05:00February 10, 2025|Congress, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for February 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 31 – February 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Introduction With the pause in external communication that the new administration imposed on HHS two weeks ago, including announcements, advisories, regular publications, and web site updates, there has been very little public communication from or activity involving HHS in the past week, including no new regulations or grant or meeting notices. While an HHS spokesperson explained that the moratorium has been eased and agencies are now permitted to engage in [...]

joe2025-02-06T16:51:06-05:00February 6, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Federal Update, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare cuts, News, Pennsylvania Update|

State-by-State Medicaid Data

New resources published by the Commonwealth Fund share information on the role of Medicaid in serving the U.S. population on a state-by-state basis. The one-page fact sheets – one for each state – share data about how many people in each state are covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); how many are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid; how many adults participate in Medicaid as a result of Affordable Care Act Meedicaid expansion; how much money each state’s Medicaid program receives from the federal government – and the share of each state’s Medicaid spending that federal [...]

joe2025-02-04T14:46:40-05:00February 5, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Congress, Medicaid|

Health Policy Update for January 30

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 24-30. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Introduction With the pause in external communication that the new administration imposed on HHS last week, including announcements, advisories, regular publications, and web site updates, there has been very little public communication from or activity involving HHS in the past week, including no new regulations or grant or meeting notices. The Administration Earlier in the week the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a temporary pause on agency grant, loan, and [...]

joe2025-01-30T21:28:45-05:00January 30, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Federal Update, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Pennsylvania Update|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 23

The Administration Public Communication The new administration has directed HHS to pause all external communications, including announcements, advisories, regular publications, and web site updates. According to a published report, "HHS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health," a spokesperson wrote in an email. "This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization. There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis." The directive [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for January 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 11-17. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress House Budget Committee Republican members of the House Budget Committee have circulated a list of possible policy changes that would reduce federal spending by between $5.3 trillion and $5.7 trillion over a period of ten years. Up to $3.4 trillion of those possible cuts could include reductions in federal health care spending. The health care cuts the document lists (all figures are ten-year reductions) are: Medicare introducing Medicare site-neutral outpatient payments - [...]

House Committee Mulls Possible Health Care Cuts

Republican members of the House Budget Committee have circulated a list of possible policy changes that would reduce federal spending between $5.3 trillion and $5.7 trillion over a period of ten years. Up to $3.4 trillion of those possible cuts could include reductions in federal health care spending. The health care cuts the document lists (all figures are ten-year reductions) are: Medicare introducing Medicare site-neutral outpatient payments - $146 billion reducing Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) uncompensated care payments - $229 billion reducing Medicare bad debt reimbursement - $42 billion extending the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 budget sequestration that [...]

joe2025-01-14T15:44:54-05:00January 15, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Congress, deficit reduction, Federal Update, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare bad debt reimbursement, Medicare cuts, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare reimbursement policy, Pennsylvania Update|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 9

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 4-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Congressional leaders continued to refine their committee membership for the 119th Congress. In the past week, the following additions were made to committees with jurisdiction over health care matters: The House Energy and Commerce Committee has added six new Democratic members to the committee: Reps. Kevin Mullin (CA), Troy Carter (LA), Jennifer McClellan (VA), Greg Landsman (OH), Jake Auchincloss (MA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY). The House Ways and Means Committee has added [...]

joe2025-01-09T15:02:36-05:00January 9, 2025|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, Federal Update, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|