Health News
Gov. Steve Beshear, left, is urging the legislature to pass legislation that would rectify a $100 million shortfall in the 2011 Medicaid budget. If it doesn't, Beshear said payments for health care providers who treat Medicaid patients would decrease by 30 percent, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Jack Brammer reports.
"With thousands of of Kentuckians joining the program every month, its passage is critical to ensuring vulnerable Kentuckians get the services they need, and that health care providers do not see unnecessary drastic reductions in reimbursement payments," Beshear said in a press release issued yesterday.
The 2010-2012 budget assumed the state would receive $100 million more from the federal government than it actually got. Beshear is asking the legislature to reallocate $166.5 million from "next year's Medicaid budget to the current year. To make up the resulting shortfall in fiscal year 2012, Beshear said the state would expand the use of private contractors to provide Medicaid services," Brammer reports.
Senate President David Williams objected to the governor's proposal. Williams, who is running for governor this year, said Beshear has yet to cut $125.5 million in Medicaid costs, which he promised he would do last year. (Read more)
- Funding Substance-abuse Treatment For Medicaid Recipients Could Help 6,000 People, Official Says
If the budget proposed by Gov. Steve Beshear is passed, 6,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid could be treated for substance abuse, ultimately saving the tax system hundreds of thousands of dollars. That was the message Monday during a House budget subcommittee...
- Council Asks Move To Managed Care Be Delayed 90 Days
The massive switch to managed care organizations for Kentucky's Medicaid program, pushed by Gov. Steve Beshear, isn't in the bag yet. The Advisory Council for Medical Assistance, which advises officials on Medicaid issues, has asked that the switch...
- Health Secretary Tells Legislators Medicaid Budget Has Been Balanced By Moving All Beneficiaries To Managed Care
The switch to managed care organizations has fixed Kentucky's Medicaid shortfall, with Janie Miller, secretary of health and family services, calling the budget "balanced." She said the projected savings from moving to managed care will take care...
- Beshear Will Use Line-item Veto On Medicaid Bill To Remove Mandatory Cuts In Other State Programs And School Funding
Democrats appear to have prevailed in the State Capitol battle over the budget and Medicaid. (Update, March 25: Beshear issued the vetoes.) After the Republican-controlled Senate passed a budget fix that included mandatory spending cuts across state government...
- Senate Blows The Whistle On The Session, Leaving Medicaid At An Impasse; Beshear Says A Special Session Will Start Monday
By Al Cross Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues The state Senate is forcing an early end to the Kentucky General Assembly's regular session today, without fixing the budget gap in the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. Even...
Health News
As expected, Beshear asks legislature to move $100 million from next year's Medicaid budget to make up this year's shortfall
Gov. Steve Beshear, left, is urging the legislature to pass legislation that would rectify a $100 million shortfall in the 2011 Medicaid budget. If it doesn't, Beshear said payments for health care providers who treat Medicaid patients would decrease by 30 percent, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Jack Brammer reports.
"With thousands of of Kentuckians joining the program every month, its passage is critical to ensuring vulnerable Kentuckians get the services they need, and that health care providers do not see unnecessary drastic reductions in reimbursement payments," Beshear said in a press release issued yesterday.
The 2010-2012 budget assumed the state would receive $100 million more from the federal government than it actually got. Beshear is asking the legislature to reallocate $166.5 million from "next year's Medicaid budget to the current year. To make up the resulting shortfall in fiscal year 2012, Beshear said the state would expand the use of private contractors to provide Medicaid services," Brammer reports.
Senate President David Williams objected to the governor's proposal. Williams, who is running for governor this year, said Beshear has yet to cut $125.5 million in Medicaid costs, which he promised he would do last year. (Read more)
- Funding Substance-abuse Treatment For Medicaid Recipients Could Help 6,000 People, Official Says
If the budget proposed by Gov. Steve Beshear is passed, 6,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid could be treated for substance abuse, ultimately saving the tax system hundreds of thousands of dollars. That was the message Monday during a House budget subcommittee...
- Council Asks Move To Managed Care Be Delayed 90 Days
The massive switch to managed care organizations for Kentucky's Medicaid program, pushed by Gov. Steve Beshear, isn't in the bag yet. The Advisory Council for Medical Assistance, which advises officials on Medicaid issues, has asked that the switch...
- Health Secretary Tells Legislators Medicaid Budget Has Been Balanced By Moving All Beneficiaries To Managed Care
The switch to managed care organizations has fixed Kentucky's Medicaid shortfall, with Janie Miller, secretary of health and family services, calling the budget "balanced." She said the projected savings from moving to managed care will take care...
- Beshear Will Use Line-item Veto On Medicaid Bill To Remove Mandatory Cuts In Other State Programs And School Funding
Democrats appear to have prevailed in the State Capitol battle over the budget and Medicaid. (Update, March 25: Beshear issued the vetoes.) After the Republican-controlled Senate passed a budget fix that included mandatory spending cuts across state government...
- Senate Blows The Whistle On The Session, Leaving Medicaid At An Impasse; Beshear Says A Special Session Will Start Monday
By Al Cross Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues The state Senate is forcing an early end to the Kentucky General Assembly's regular session today, without fixing the budget gap in the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. Even...