Virginia Governor Issues Gentle Ultimatum As Medicaid Expansion Debate Continues To Roil Legislature
Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said that if he gets a budget that doesn't include expansion of Medicaid, he'll be forced to add an amendment, which may not include some of the compromises he's already worked out with lawmakers. Media outlets report on Medicaid news out of New Hampshire, Iowa and Louisiana.
The Washington Post:
Northam Threatens (Nicely) To Use Amendment To Muscle In Medicaid
Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday gently warned state budget negotiators to send him a spending plan that includes Medicaid expansion or he will add expansion as an amendment, a procedure that gives him a stronger hand in the Senate. If forced to go that route, Northam (D) said, he would have more power to shape an expansion deal already passed by House Republicans that calls for work requirements, co-pays and other conservative measures. (Vozzella, 3/2)
The Washington Post:
Northam Urges Lawmakers To Expand Medicaid For Their Benefit
“If they don’t do Medicaid expansion and pass a budget, then obviously it would give me a lot more control than it would otherwise,” Northam said. The governor’s comments come at a key moment in the state’s effort to expand Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s health care law to provide coverage for 300,000 low-income Virginians. After blocking Democratic efforts at expanding Medicaid for years, Republican resistance to the program is now split. (Suderman, 3/2)
The Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Northam Says He'll Send Down Amendment If Virginia Budget Does Not Include Medicaid Expansion
Northam acknowledged that he lacks the votes to get a budget with Medicaid expansion through the Senate, but he said he needs only one Republican from the chamber’s 21-19 majority to switch to allow Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, the opportunity to break the tie on the proposed amendment. (Martz, 3/2)
The New York Times:
As Trump Pushes Medicaid Testing, The Grading Falls Short
The Trump administration is hoping to transform Medicaid by allowing states to test work requirements, premiums and other conservative policies, but a new government report says federal and state officials do not properly evaluate whether such experiments improve patient care or reduce costs. Evaluations “generally lacked rigor,” and the findings were often kept secret for years, so they were of little use to policymakers, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, said in the report issued last month. (Pear, 3/4)
The Associated Press:
Manchester Group Hosts Discussion On Medicaid Expansion
City and state policy makers will join business leaders and residents in Manchester to discuss plans to reauthorize New Hampshire's expanded Medicaid program. The Manchester Chamber of Commerce is hosting a community meeting on Medicaid expansion Monday morning. New Hampshire's current program has put about 50,000 low-income residents on private insurance plans. The Legislature is considering a bill to continue the program for five years but change its structure to a managed care model, impose new work requirements on enrollees and use 5 percent of liquor revenues to cover the state's cost as federal funding decreases. (3/5)
Concord (N.H.) Monitor:
Questions Linger On Medicaid Expansion
It was, for many, the end of months of anticipation. The release last month of the Republican plan to reauthorize New Hampshire’s Medicaid expansion program – sponsored by Senate President Chuck Morse and Majority Leader Jeb Bradley – provided a first glimpse at one of the state’s most significant, controversial pieces of legislation. The program, which presently provides health care to more than 50,000 Granite Staters, would be updated with a new delivery system, new funding mechanisms and a long-sought work requirement. Dozens showed up to a hearing after its release, voicing both support and skepticism. (DeWitt, 3/4)
Sioux City Journal:
Medicaid Payment Changes Not Sustainable Long Term, Say Providers
A change in a Medicaid waiver reimbursement system for the state’s special-needs population has left some health providers without enough funding to sustain their services. Changes to the home- and community-based services waiver — which affects approximately 5,000 Iowans who have traumatic brain injuries, developmental or intellectual disabilities — moved the payment model from a fee-for-service model to a tiered rate system, effective Dec. 1, 2017. (Ramm and Schmidt, 3/4)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Louisiana House Passes Medicaid Work Bill That Doesn't Require Anyone To Work
The Louisiana House voted 69-29 for legislation Friday (March 2) that was originally aimed at requiring some Medicaid recipients to work to receive their government health benefits, but that has been altered such that Medicaid recipients who refused to work couldn't actually lose their health care. The Senate would still have to take up the bill for consideration before it is implemented. ... Though House Bill 3 no longer requires Medicaid recipients to work, it would likely still cost the state money to implement a plan that suggests able-bodied Medicaid recipients get a job, take educational classes or volunteer. (O'Donoghue, 3/2)