While Medicaid expansion supporters are pleased with the recent developments in Maine and Virginia, there are concerns about the access to quality care as the Medicaid population expands. To address these concerns, a number of studies have been conducted to help guide the states considering...
From the very start of Donald Trump’s presidency, he has promised to give states the flexibility they need to craft their own Medicaid policies. HHS, working with governors and state legislatures, could make dramatic state-by-state changes to Medicaid using section 1115 waivers allowed under federal...
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released a Medicaid Scorecard to promote transparency and accountability. The scorecard consists of care quality data from 2015 statistics provided by participating states, along with federally reported information. By consolidating this data, CMS and the states look to...
After months of debate amongst Republican representatives in both the House and Senate, legislators in Virginia voted in favor of Medicaid expansion under the ACA on May 30th, 2018. The provision to expand the state's Medicaid program to over 400,000 Virginia residents was included in the...
It has been six weeks since Virginia's General Assembly met for a special session to produce the state's budget for FY 2019 and decide the fate of Medicaid expansion. On Tuesday, the Finance Committee met but Virginia Senate Republicans delayed a decision on a proposed...
The repeal of the Affordable Care Act with its current provisions for Medicaid did not materialize at the federal level last year; however, states are exploring reform individually by way of Medicaid 1115 waivers. These waivers focus on priorities within the states and permit local governments...
During the 2016 Presidential campaign and shortly after assuming office, President Trump was adamant about repealing the ACA's provisions for Medicaid expansion. In fact, President Trump and the administrator of The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Seema Verma, are now considering waivers to...
Last month, President Trump delayed presenting his plan to address the soaring costs of prescription drugs. Despite the delay, New York’s Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board (DURB) took it upon themselves to negotiate with drug manufacturers. DURB voted in favor of lowering the price its...
Medicaid is losing billions of dollars from improper payments. According to HHS Agency Financial Reports, improper Medicaid payments reached $30 billion in 2015 and grew to almost $37 billion in 2017. The vast majority of these improper payments were determined to be improper claims payments...
Lawmakers in Virginia were unable to approve the Commonwealth’s biennial spending plan earlier this year; which included provisions for Medicaid Expansion. Due to a divide in Republican support within the House and Senate, the legislators agreed to reconvene for a special session, which took place...
