CMS Will Be ‘Looking Closely’ At Why So Many Have Been Dropped Off Arkansas’ Medicaid Rolls For Failing To Report Work Hours
But CMS Administrator Seema Verma says there's no plan to slow implementation of the work requirement rules. Since June, more than 12,000 beneficiaries in Arkansas have lost their Medicaid coverage, and thousands more are poised to be dropped next month. Verma thinks it’s “very possible” that people left Medicaid coverage because they found a job or “decided that they didn’t want coverage." Other Medicaid news comes out of Maine, Kentucky, Georgia and Minnesota.
The Hill:
Trump Health Chief 'Looking Closely' At Thousands Who Lost Medicaid From Work Requirements
A top Trump administration health-care official on Tuesday said she is “looking closely” at why thousands of people have lost Medicaid coverage in Arkansas due to the state’s new work requirements, but indicated the administration would not slow down in implementing the new rules. Asked if those people losing coverage is a weakness in the administration’s plan, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma told reporters Tuesday that her agency is still trying to understand why those people left the Medicaid program. (Sullivan, 11/27)
Portland Press Herald:
LePage Requests Stay Of Judge's Order To Implement Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Paul LePage is continuing to fight Medicaid expansion in court, filing another motion to delay the case only five weeks before Governor-elect Janet Mills is expected to reverse course and implement the expansion upon taking office. As a result, LePage’s latest legal move may do little more than further delay access to health insurance for the 70,000 people who will be eligible for Medicaid coverage under the law approved by voters in November 2017. (Lawlor, 11/27)
Medpage Today:
Scholars Wrangle Over Kentucky's Medicaid Waiver
Court challenges may delay the implementation of approved changes to Kentucky's Medicaid program, experts told MedPage Today. The Trump administration OK'd changes to Kentucky's Medicaid program, for a second time, that would require "able-bodied" Medicaid enrollees to meet certain work or volunteering requirements in order to obtain benefits, according to the Associated Press. (Firth, 11/27)
Georgia Health News:
What Will Be On Brian Kemp’s Agenda For Health Care?
Brian Kemp’s election as governor likely means that full-fledged Medicaid expansion will remain off the table in Georgia, at least for a while.Republican Kemp, who will take office in January, opposed Medicaid expansion during the campaign, while Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams strongly supported it. Gov. Nathan Deal and his fellow Republicans who control the Georgia General Assembly have resisted expansion since it became an option for states several years ago. (Miller, 11/26)
MPR:
Low-Income Minnesota Families Struggle To Get Dental Care
About 655,000 Minnesota children were enrolled in Medicaid, but only 36 percent of them received dental services included in their coverage, according to 2017 statistics. That puts Minnesota noticeably below the national average. (Bakst, 11/28)