Health News
- Beshear Writes Reply To A Virginia Newspaper, Pushing Medicaid Expansion Like He Implemented In Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, trying to help a fellow Democratic governor who is trying to expand Medicaid, has written a response to an editorial in which a Virginia largest state-capital newspaper opposed the move. "Our success undercuts your whole...
- Will Kentucky Expand Medicaid, And If So, How?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News Kentucky is one of the last states to decide whether to expand Medicaid under federal health reform, and now that the General Assembly has gone home, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear can turn his attention to the many questions...
- If Republican Governors Are Agreeing To Expand Medicaid After Lobbying By Hospitals, Can Beshear Be Far Behind?
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Florida Gov. Rick Scott's surprising announcement that he would use federal health-care reform money to expand the Medicaid program to households earning up to 138 percent of the poverty level "means the dominoes are...
- As Beshear And Williams Equivocate, Hoover And Mcconnell Say State Should Not Expand Medicaid Under Health Reform
Kentucky Health News The Republican leader of the state House said today that Kentucky should not take advantage of an expansion of Medicaid under federal health reform because it would cost too much once the state starts paying 10 percent of the cost....
- Experts Disagree On Whether States Will Choose To Expand Medicaid
Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor...
Health News
Governors in both parties undecided on whether to expand Medicaid; seeking answers to several questions
There is hesitation among governors on both sides of the aisle regarding whether or not to expand Medicaid, which would cover millions more Americans under the program for the poor and disabled.
"At least seven Democratic governors have been noncommittal about their willingness to go along," N.C. Aizenman and Karen Tumulty report for The Washington Post. Gov. Steve Beshear has not indicated whether he will expand coverage in Kentucky, but previously expressed concerns about the costs associated with the move, and state House Republican Leader Jeff Hoover has said he should not. Kentucky would have to start paying part of the extra cost in 2017, and 10 percent of it by 2020. Several Republican governors have said they will not participate, while others say they have not decided.
The issue is surely a major discussion topic at the National Governors Association meeting this week in Williamsburg, Va. Questions remain unanswered: "Will states that opt in have the option of scaling back in future years? If a state that opts out decides it wants to participate at some later point, will the federal government still pay nearly the full cost of covering those who become newly eligible for Medicaid? And can a state participate only partially ? for instance, by raising the income cutoff for its program to a level lower than the ceiling envisioned in the law, which is set at 133 percent of the federal poverty line?" Aisenman and Tumulty ask.
NGA Executive Director Dan Crippen said states are confused over what to do. The association has sent a list of questions to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius about the issue. "States need to be making these decisions now, and it's hard to make them if you don't have clarity," said Matt Salo, director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
Sebelius has said she will address concerns during meetings that will take place in various cities starting July 31. There is no deadline yet for when states must choose whether or not to expand. (Read more)
"At least seven Democratic governors have been noncommittal about their willingness to go along," N.C. Aizenman and Karen Tumulty report for The Washington Post. Gov. Steve Beshear has not indicated whether he will expand coverage in Kentucky, but previously expressed concerns about the costs associated with the move, and state House Republican Leader Jeff Hoover has said he should not. Kentucky would have to start paying part of the extra cost in 2017, and 10 percent of it by 2020. Several Republican governors have said they will not participate, while others say they have not decided.
The issue is surely a major discussion topic at the National Governors Association meeting this week in Williamsburg, Va. Questions remain unanswered: "Will states that opt in have the option of scaling back in future years? If a state that opts out decides it wants to participate at some later point, will the federal government still pay nearly the full cost of covering those who become newly eligible for Medicaid? And can a state participate only partially ? for instance, by raising the income cutoff for its program to a level lower than the ceiling envisioned in the law, which is set at 133 percent of the federal poverty line?" Aisenman and Tumulty ask.
NGA Executive Director Dan Crippen said states are confused over what to do. The association has sent a list of questions to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius about the issue. "States need to be making these decisions now, and it's hard to make them if you don't have clarity," said Matt Salo, director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
Sebelius has said she will address concerns during meetings that will take place in various cities starting July 31. There is no deadline yet for when states must choose whether or not to expand. (Read more)
- Beshear Writes Reply To A Virginia Newspaper, Pushing Medicaid Expansion Like He Implemented In Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, trying to help a fellow Democratic governor who is trying to expand Medicaid, has written a response to an editorial in which a Virginia largest state-capital newspaper opposed the move. "Our success undercuts your whole...
- Will Kentucky Expand Medicaid, And If So, How?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News Kentucky is one of the last states to decide whether to expand Medicaid under federal health reform, and now that the General Assembly has gone home, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear can turn his attention to the many questions...
- If Republican Governors Are Agreeing To Expand Medicaid After Lobbying By Hospitals, Can Beshear Be Far Behind?
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Florida Gov. Rick Scott's surprising announcement that he would use federal health-care reform money to expand the Medicaid program to households earning up to 138 percent of the poverty level "means the dominoes are...
- As Beshear And Williams Equivocate, Hoover And Mcconnell Say State Should Not Expand Medicaid Under Health Reform
Kentucky Health News The Republican leader of the state House said today that Kentucky should not take advantage of an expansion of Medicaid under federal health reform because it would cost too much once the state starts paying 10 percent of the cost....
- Experts Disagree On Whether States Will Choose To Expand Medicaid
Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor...