Colo. Gov. To OK Medicaid Payment Pilot Program, And Other Medicaid News
Medicaid programs are covered by news outlets in Colorado, New York, Illinois, Minnesota and Georgia.
Modern Healthcare: Colo. Governor Expected To Sign Medicaid Payment Reform
A bipartisan bill in Colorado creating a Medicaid payment reform and innovation pilot program is expected to be signed soon by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Co-sponsored by state Reps. Cheri Gerou and Dave Young, the measure creates a process by which the state's health care policy and financing department would pilot-test fee-for-service alternatives and regional care collaborative organizations. Pilots could incorporate elements such as global payments, risk-sharing and aligned payment incentives (Robeznieks, 5/20).
Modern Healthcare: N.Y. Medicaid Development Center Rates Too High: Audit
The New York Medicaid program provided $1.4 billion in "excessive" payments to development centers in a recent year, HHS' inspector general found. The finding, which came amid continued budget pressure to reduce the cost of the New York Medicaid program, has spurred the state and the CMS to initiate a reset of those rates (Daly, 5/18).
Chicago Sun-Times: Senate Democrats' Spending Plan Offers Deeper Cuts Than Quinn Proposed
Senate Democrats on Friday outlined a spending plan that cuts deeper than Gov. Pat Quinn's budget proposal, shaving about $250 million more from areas such as human services and public safety -- but Republicans contended still more cuts were needed. The plan assumes legislators will come to terms on big-ticket items such as a Medicaid package that plugs a $2.7 billion hole as well as facility closures. Democratic budget leaders did not specify how those items would come together, although they did suggest a Medicaid solution was imminent (Maloney, 5/18).
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Feds Probe Minnesota's Medicaid Bills
Congressional investigators are raising new questions about how Minnesota bills federal taxpayers for Medicaid costs, seeking evidence that the state has been overpaying state Medicaid contractors to cover losses from state-run public health programs. The letter to Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson, obtained Friday by the Star Tribune, revives allegations of inflated payments and represents an escalation in one of three continuing federal probes into the state's use of Medicaid funds over the past decade under Republican and Democratic governors. It comes three weeks after a U.S. House panel made the state the focus of a grueling public hearing (Diaz, 5/18).
Georgia Health News: Progress On Mental Health, But Gaps Remain
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter said Friday that she has concerns about how Georgia's restructuring of its Medicaid program will affect the state's revamped mental health system. Mrs. Carter also noted that while the state's 2010 agreement with the Department of Justice to improve Georgia's mental health system is "a good settlement," it fails to address the needs of children and adolescents (Miller, 5/18).