Medicaid

Chronology of Coverage

1. Oct. 4, 2014

   Editorial decries flaws in medical system, including Medicare and Medicaid, that make it difficult for patients to obtain quality end-of-life services; welcomes changes being rolled out by New York State and Institute of Medicine intended to help protect patient rights and improve access to community and home care. MORE

2. Sep. 28, 2014

   Federal report says state standards for access to care under Medicaid vary widely and are rarely enforced, with patients often waiting for months or traveling long distances to see doctor; report comes as enrollment in program is surging due to Affordable Care Act. MORE

3. Sep. 27, 2014

   Editorial rejects effort by Arizona, Kansas, Oregon and Tennessee to delay enactment of basic protections for home care workers, scheduled to take effect on Jan 1, 2015; contends that states have had plenty of time to prepare for rule, which guarantees minimum wage and overtime rates for such workers; rejects states' claims that they need more time to address related Medicaid issues. MORE

4. Sep. 25, 2014

   Obama administration increases pressure on states to expand Medicaid, citing new evidence that hospitals reap financial benefits and gain more paying customers when states broaden eligibility. MORE

5. Sep. 24, 2014

   Louisiana's former health secretary Bruce Greenstein is charged by a state grand jury with lying about his involvement in the award of a now-canceled $200 million Medicaid contract. MORE

6. Sep. 16, 2014

   Former Arizona State Sen Russell Pearce resigns as Arizona Republican Party's first vice chair amid criticism for remarks he made supporting mandatory birth control or sterilization for Medicaid recipients. MORE

7. Sep. 9, 2014

   Virginia Gov Terry McAuliffe, who in June ordered his cabinet to devise plan to expand Medicaid unilaterally, announces that only 25,000 uninsured Virginians will be receiving coverage, far fewer than 400,000 he has said are eligible if state expands Medicaid under Affordable Care Act; move is sign of how McAuliffe has been forced to retreat after losing fight with Republican-dominated General Assembly. MORE

8. Aug. 29, 2014

   Pennsylvania will become the 27th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, using federal funds to buy private health insurance for about 500,000 low-income residents starting in 2015; Republican Gov Tom Corbett had proposed the plan as an alternative to expanding traditional Medicaid under the health care law, which he opposes. MORE

9. Jul. 16, 2014

   Federal class action lawsuit accuses New York State health officials of denying or slashing Medicaid home care services to chronically ill and disabled people without proper notice, chance to appeal or even an explanation, protections required by law. MORE

10. Jul. 11, 2014

    Affordable Care Act classifies substance abuse treatment as an essential health benefit, but an obscure federal rule enacted almost 50 years ago stipulates that while Medicaid can cover residential addiction treatment in community-based programs, it applies only to facilities with 16 or fewer beds; quirk in law could have significant impact on substance abuse treatment in 26 states that have expanded Medicaid under health care law. MORE

11. Jun. 14, 2014

    Virginia Republicans, empowered by their new majority in State Senate, pass budget that does not include Medicaid expansion that Gov Terry McAuliffe sought and forbidding him from unilaterally expanding health care program for poor; McAuliffe vows to keep fighting for broader health coverage. MORE

12. Jun. 11, 2014

    Virginia Gov Terry McAuliffe loses his battle with state lawmakers over Medicaid expansion, an enormous retreat from the high expectations he set for a liberal agenda; he is thought to be studying how to press the issue by executive action, a legally and politically uncertain course; facing a June 30 deadline to pass a state budget, Democrats gave in to Republican demands to leave out a Medicaid expansion. MORE

13. Jun. 10, 2014

    Sudden resignation of Phillip P Puckett, Democratic state senator in Virginia, flips control of Virginia State Senate to Republicans and threatens Gov Terry McAuliffe's chances of expanding Medicaid under Affordable Care Act; is raising questions about an unseemly deal, Republican influence and the fate of state's budget. MORE

14. Jun. 9, 2014

    Texarkana, Tex, directly across border from Arkansas, has emerged as stark example of how Affordable Care Act has changed economic geography of the country; Arkansas accepted Medicaid expansion under law, while Texas did not, meaning that residents on Arkansas side have access to thousands of dollars in government benefits that their neighbors lack; research shows that very few residents are choosing to move in order to gain benefits. MORE

15. Jun. 9, 2014

    Editorial cites gaps in the healthcare system after passage of Affordable Care Act, many of which affect the most vulnerable groups in the nation; holds the 20 or more states that decided not expand Medicaid programs should do so, since federal government is offering generous matching funds; also calls for hospitals to move more aggressively to help people enroll in Medicaid or subsidized plans in the exchanges. MORE

16. May. 18, 2014

    University of Michigan study published in journal JAMA Surgery finds surgery patients covered by Medicaid arrive at the hospital in worse health, experience more complications, stay longer and cost more than patients with private insurance; study may offer preview of what to expect as millions of uninsured people qualify for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. MORE

17. May. 16, 2014

    Indiana Gov Mike Pence proposes using federal Medicaid funds available under Affordable Care Act to expand state health insurance program to cover additional 350,000 low-income adults; many participants would pay $3 to $25 a month; Pence is among several Republican governors who have opposed expanding traditional Medicaid, calling it a failure, yet have pursued federal money for alternative models. MORE

18. May. 11, 2014

    Editorial observes that group of Virginia Republicans are so determined to block expansion of Medicaid that they are holding up passage of budget, threatening shutdown of state government; holds that intransigence has left 400,000 low-income residents without coverage; supports Gov Terry McAuliffe's effort to expand Medicaid without legislative approval. MORE

19. May. 9, 2014

    Ambitious Medicaid overhaul in New York has shifted $6 billion in public spending on long-term services for disabled and aged people to managed care companies; state's goal was savings but changes set off scramble among companies and service providers to enroll clients requiring minimal care and many frail people with greater needs were dropped. MORE

20. Apr. 26, 2014

    Editorial applauds New York State plan to use $8 billion of federal funds over next five years to reform its Medicaid program for the poor; notes funds will go to improving delivery of health care for state's poorest residents while saving billions in unnecessary emergency room and medical costs; expresses hope that waiver money will drive real reform. MORE

21. Apr. 25, 2014

    Federal prosecutors say Akim T Murray, who worked as eligibility specialist for New York City's Human Resources Administration, orchestrated scheme for fraudulent Medicaid reimbursement claims; say Murray diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for people in need to line his own and his friends' pockets. MORE

22. Apr. 24, 2014

    Louisiana lawmakers again turn away efforts to expand state's Medicaid program under the federal health care law, with the Senate health committee voting 6 to 2 against such an expansion. MORE

23. Apr. 24, 2014

    Congressional Budget Office reduces from $70 billion to $46 billion its estimate of how much more states will spend on Medicaid in coming decade because of Affordable Care Act; new cost estimate could help state officials and others pushing for Medicaid expansion. MORE

24. Apr. 11, 2014

    Paul Krugman Op-Ed column criticizes Republican governors and state legislators who are rejecting Medicaid expansion due to their opposition to the health care reform law; contends rejection appears to be motivated by pure spite. MORE

25. Apr. 5, 2014

    Obama administration reports that enrollment in Medicaid has increased by three million people, to a total of 62 million, largely because of the Affordable Care Act; as expected, increases were much greater in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility. MORE

26. Mar. 24, 2014

    Virginia Gov Terry McAuliffe has found that his gift for persuasion is ineffective against conservative Republican majority in the House of Delegates; special legislative session is set to begin with both Democrats and Republicans raising the specter of a government shutdown over McAuliffe's desire to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. MORE

27. Mar. 10, 2014

    Jails and prisons around country are beginning to sign up inmates for health insurance, taking advantage of little-known aspect of the Affordable Care Act that allows states to expand Medicaid coverage to single and childless adults; those who gain coverage in prison will also have it after they get out, key improvement for group that suffers from disproportionately high rates of chronic disease. MORE

28. Mar. 7, 2014

    New York is one of at least 26 states rolling out mandatory privately managed long-term care programs under Medicaid, but the widely praised version in Tennessee has had problems; system of caring for frail comes under twin pressures of cost containment and profit motive, and in many cases, care is denied after needs grew costlier. MORE

29. Mar. 7, 2014

    New Hampshire's Republican-dominated Senate votes to expand health care coverage to estimated 50,000 adults using Medicaid funding made available through Affordable Care Act. MORE

30. Mar. 5, 2014

    Arkansas House of Representatives votes to allow state to keep taking federal money for expansion of Medicaid under Pres Obama's health care law and use it to buy private insurance for poor people. MORE

31. Mar. 4, 2014

    Editorial maintains report from Rep Paul Ryan indicting 50 years of government antipoverty efforts is poorly reasoned and factually distorted; holds Republican Party has no interest in repairing flaws in programs like Medicaid and food stamps, but simply wants intellectual cover as it seeks to eliminate as many as possible. MORE

32. Feb. 28, 2014

    Utah's Republican Gov Gary Herbert says he wants to reject full Medicaid expansion to enroll more people in the government program and instead seek federal dollars to cover the poor in private plans. MORE

33. Feb. 21, 2014

    Virginia House and Senate cast opposing votes on whether to accept federal Medicaid funds to provide health insurance to as many as 400,000 low-income residents. MORE

34. Feb. 19, 2014

    Arkansas House fails to renew state’s compromise Medicaid expansion plan, leaving in limbo program heralded as model for Republican-leaning states to implement federal health overhaul. MORE

35. Feb. 14, 2014

    New York officials say the Obama administration has agreed 'in principle' to grant $8 billion Medicaid adjustment for New York State; waiver could help stabilize some hospitals in Brooklyn and would reconfigure the delivery of health care there and throughout the state. MORE

36. Feb. 12, 2014

    Editorial examines benefits of using public Medicaid dollars to buy private insurance policies, which some Republican-led states have proposed due to their refusal to expand their Medicaid programs; raises the uncertainty of whether doing so will end up costing more money than traditional Medicaid. MORE

37. Feb. 11, 2014

    Several Republican lawmakers in Arkansas, facing pressure from conservative primary challengers, are reconsidering their support for plan to use federal Medicaid expansion funds to buy private insurance for poor people; abrupt reversal, even as idea is gaining support in other states, could leave 83,000 people who have signed up so far without insurance. MORE

38. Feb. 7, 2014

    New Hampshire state senators say they have reached bipartisan deal on framework to expand Medicaid to about 50,000 low-income adults. MORE

39. Jan. 31, 2014

    New York State Health Dept rescinds recommendation that Americare Certified Special Services, home health care agency with checkered past, be granted expanded license; decision follows publication of news article documenting long history of Medicaid fraud investigations of agency, as well as pending lawsuits detailing patterns of patient mistreatment, forgery of medical documents and sexual misconduct of top executive. MORE

40. Jan. 30, 2014

    New York State Health Department recommends that Americare Certified Special Services be given unrestricted home health care license in 14 counties, including all of New York City, citing '20 years experience in providing home care services'; recommendation comes despite organizatio's involvement in Medicaid fraud inquiries in 2001. MORE

41. Jan. 28, 2014

    New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov Andrew M Cuomo show unified front on helping distressed Brooklyn hospitals; have asked Obama administration for a waiver allowing the state to spend $10 billion in Medicaid money over five years to change the way health care is delivered to poor New Yorkers. MORE

42. Jan. 24, 2014

    Justice Department joins eight separate whistle-blower suits claiming for-profit hospital chain Health Management Associates tried to inflate Medicare and Medicaid payments by admitting more patients regardless of whether hospital care was needed, and pressuring doctors at hospitals in six states to increase admissions; similar accusations are being raised at other hospital and medical groups as health care undergoes sweeping changes. MORE

43. Jan. 21, 2014

    Health care coverage under Affordable Care Act is beginning to have profound effect on lives of poor Americans, with sign-ups for Medicaid surging in many states; people getting coverage in West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the country, say the mere fact of having it has drastically improved their mental health. MORE

44. Jan. 8, 2014

    Editorial contends that unemployment checks are still a long way from getting to the people who need them due to the callousness of Republican lawmakers; maintains that Republicans' insistence on cutting food stamps, refusal to expand Medicaid and hostility to jobless benefits and a higher minimum wage show they do not care about people who need help. MORE

45. Jan. 4, 2014

    Op-Ed article by Prof David A Super holds the poor remain the most vulnerable to lapses in government computer systems, citing examples related to Medicaid and food stamps; urges Pres Obama to address these problems with same urgency he lent to fixing the government health care website. MORE

46. Jan. 3, 2014

    Study conducted in Oregon and published in the journal Science finds that after getting health insurance under Medicaid, people went to the emergency room more often than their uninsured counterparts; findings cast doubt on the hope that expanded insurance coverage for the poor will help rein in emergency room costs just as more than two million people are gaining coverage under the Affordable Care Act. MORE

47. Dec. 16, 2013

    Editorial welcomes news that the number of people signing up for health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act has accelerated greatly, particularly for Medicaid programs for the poor; notes while enrollment has been slower than anticipated, it is surprisingly robust given the start-up troubles. MORE

48. Dec. 11, 2013

    Federal authorities approve Iowa's proposal to expand low-income health care, but do not give Gov Terry E Branstad as much flexibility as he sought. MORE

49. Dec. 7, 2013

    Pennsylvania Gov Tom Corbett releases details of his proposal to use federal Medicaid funds to buy private health insurance for low-income people; plan is similar to one being carried out by Arkansas and considered by other Republican governors who oppose expanding Medicaid under President Obama’s health care law. MORE

50. Dec. 6, 2013

    Criminal complaint unsealed in Manhattan says Russian diplomats posted to New York City, and their wives, fraudulently applied for $1.5 million in Medicaid benefits over past nine years, while protected by diplomatic immunity; prosecutors characterize scheme as audacious swindle of federal health benefits program for needy, orchestrated by officials in the Russian Consulate in New York and its mission to the United Nations. MORE

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ARTICLES ABOUT MEDICAID

Ohio Governor Backpedals on Repeal of Health Law

By TRIP GABRIEL

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio said his comments about a Republican-led Congress being unlikely to repeal the Affordable Care Act were taken out of context.

October 20, 2014, Monday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Kasich, John R , Ohio , Republican Party , Medicaid , Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)

Chain to Pay $38 Million Over Claims of Poor Care

By KATIE THOMAS

The company settled after it was accused of inappropriate billing and of providing care to nursing home residents that was effectively worthless.

October 11, 2014, Saturday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Extendicare Inc , Nursing Homes , Elder Care , Health Insurance and Managed Care , Justice Department , Suits and Litigation (Civil) , Medicare , Medicaid

Medicaid, Often Criticized, Is Quite Popular With Its Customers

By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

Results of surveys suggest that people understand Medicaid’s drawbacks but appreciate its advantages.

October 10, 2014, Friday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Medicaid , Polls and Public Opinion , Health Affairs (Journal) , Health Insurance and Managed Care , Arkansas , Texas , Kentucky

Care at the End of Life

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

All too often, such care for Americans is shoddy or contrary to a patient’s wishes.

October 4, 2014, Saturday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Elder Care , Hospice Care , Death and Dying , Medicaid , Medicare , Editorials , Institute of Medicine

For Many New Medicaid Enrollees, Care Is Hard to Find, Report Says

By ROBERT PEAR

A federal report says state standards for access to health care are rarely enforced and that Medicaid patients may wait for months or travel long distances to see a doctor.

September 28, 2014, Sunday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Medicaid , Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) , Health Insurance and Managed Care , Health and Human Services Department , Obama, Barack

Labor Rights for Home Care Workers

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The states have had plenty of time to figure out how to carry out the new rule. Further delay would only prolong the indefensible.

September 27, 2014, Saturday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Home Health Care , Oregon , Kansas , States (US) , Editorials , Medicaid , Minimum Wage , Overtime , Labor and Jobs , Labor Department (NYS) , Arizona , Tennessee

Fighting to Honor a Father’s Last Wish: To Die at Home

By NINA BERNSTEIN

Maureen Stefanides wanted to fulfill her father’s request after long nursing home stays left him weak and unhappy, but the forces of the health care system seemed stacked against her.

September 26, 2014, Friday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Death and Dying , Elder Care , Hospice Care , Health Insurance and Managed Care , Nursing Homes , Home Health Care , Medicaid , Medicare , Elderly

Affordable Care Act Reduces Costs for Hospitals, Report Says

By ROBERT PEAR

Financial reports from investor-owned hospitals and surveys by several state hospital associations show that Medicaid expansion has reduced the number of patients who cannot pay their bills.

September 25, 2014, Thursday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) , Medicaid , Health Insurance and Managed Care , Hospitals , White House Council of Economic Advisers

Louisiana: Ex-Health Chief Is Indicted

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s former health secretary, Bruce Greenstein, was charged Tuesday by a state grand jury with lying about his involvement in the award of a now-canceled $200 million Medicaid contract.

September 24, 2014, Wednesday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Louisiana , Greenstein, Bruce , Medicaid , Jindal, Bobby

Medicaid Gives the Poor a Reason to Say No Thanks

By AARON E. CARROLL

Now that some programs are charging premiums, people may be discouraged from obtaining health insurance.

September 23, 2014, Tuesday

MORE ON MEDICAID AND: Medicaid , Health Insurance and Managed Care , Poverty