Medicaid

Medicare Beneficiaries Happier With Their Health Insurance Than Privately Insured

People who are enrolled in Medicare are happier with their health insurance than those with private health insurance, according to a recent JAMA report. Researchers found that the privately insured had a more difficult time finding doctors, were less likely to have a personal physician, had to deal with higher medical costs, were more likely to have medical debt, were more likely not to fill prescriptions because of their cost, and were less satisfied with their care than people insured by Medicare. The findings were true whether people purchased their own health insurance or had employer-sponsored insurance. Learn more about [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-03T06:00:26-04:00June 3, 2021|Medicaid, Medicare|

Cost-Sharing Drives Medicaid Disenrollment

Cost-sharing requirements appear to lead people to disenroll from Medicaid programs that impose such requirements, according to a new study. Those disenrolling are likely to be healthier in general than those who choose to remain enrolled in Medicaid despite cost-sharing requirements. This is among the findings in a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research of Michigan’s Medicaid program, which was one of the first in the country to be authorized to require certain beneficiaries to share in their medical costs. Such disenrollments also may lead to adverse selection among health care plans that serve Medicaid patients.Learn more about [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-21T06:00:23-04:00May 21, 2021|Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, May 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The CDC and Mask Guidance The CDC has updated its guidance on when people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 do and do not need to wear masks and when they do and do not need to seek testing when they believe they have been exposed to someone with the virus. This is the guidance that was released amid a great deal of public attention on Thursday. The [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-14T16:26:03-04:00May 14, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare|

Medicaid Enrollment Rises During Pandemic, But…

As expected, Medicaid enrollment has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published on the JAMA Network. But necessarily for the reason that might be expected. According to the report, Medicaid enrollment rose from 48.2 million to 51.8 million between January 2019 and September 2020, or 1.6 percent, in Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion states and from 17.2 million to 18.8 million, or 1.4 percent, in non-Medicaid expansion states.While a natural assumption would be that growth in Medicaid enrollment would track growth in pandemic-caused growth in unemployment, the analysis found the opposite to be true: “…enrollment growth was [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-07T06:00:40-04:00May 7, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, April 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a transcript of the April 23 press briefing provided by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Health Policy News The White House has nominated Miriam Delphin-Rittmon to serve as Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. Congress The New Democrat Coalition is a group of 94 mostly centrist Democrats working to bridge the gap [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-27T22:25:58-04:00April 27, 2021|Congress, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare|

Feds Rescind Texas Medicaid Waiver

A federal Medicaid waiver approved for the state of Texas in the waning days of the Trump administration has been rescinded by the Biden administration. The waiver called for spending as much as $100 billion for health care for low-income Texans over the next ten years. Officially, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revoked the waiver on technical grounds, maintaining that the agency “… erred in exempting the state from the normal public notice process – a critical priority for soliciting stakeholder feedback and ensuring public awareness.” The Washington Post, however, reports that according to two unnamed federal health [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-22T06:00:32-04:00April 22, 2021|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid|

Medicaid Changes Coming?

In office only three months, it appears the new administration has its sights set on expanding Medicaid. According to the Washington Post, Medicaid expansion could be in the works in several areas, including: elimination of work requirements Medicaid expansion in more states extended coverage for women who give birth increased funding for home-based care easier enrollment processes increased coverage for recent immigrants and prisoners Learn more about possible Medicaid changes to come in the Washington Post article “Trump tried to shrink Medicaid. Here's how Biden will try to expand it."

iqtsupport2021-04-20T06:00:09-04:00April 20, 2021|Medicaid|

Medicaid Coverage “Cliff” Poses Threat to Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries

Nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries do not meet the criteria for Medicaid eligibility but have so little income that they are unlikely to be able to afford their share of their Medicare costs, such as co-pays and deductibles. This is known as the “Medicaid coverage cliff,” and Becker’s Hospital Review, drawing from a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs, takes a brief look at what the Medicaid cliff is and how it may affect the well-being of those affected by this cliff. Learn more in the Becker’s Hospital Review article “5 things to know about the Medicaid coverage [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-16T06:00:43-04:00April 16, 2021|Medicaid, Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, April 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14. Temporary Halt to Use of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen Vaccine The White House held a press briefing on Tuesday, April 13 during which the White House press secretary, its COVID-19 response coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed the decision to halt administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine until its safety can be further examined. Learn more from a transcript of that briefing. Representatives of the FDA and CDC briefed the news media on the situation involving the [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-14T17:11:09-04:00April 14, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare|

MACPAC Meets

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions. MACPAC kicked off its April meeting with a review of a draft chapter for the June 2021 report to Congress and recommendations on addressing high-cost specialty drugs. Since 2017, the Commission has been working to identify potential models that could help states address the challenges of high prices. The presentation focused on drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the accelerated approval pathway. Such approvals are based [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-14T06:00:46-04:00April 14, 2021|MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid regulations|