Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kansas Republican Wants To Walk Fine Bipartisan Line With Medicaid Expansion. But He Might Just Anger Everyone.
A top Republican in the Kansas Senate said he’s designed a Medicaid expansion plan that aims to walk a fine line — one that can win over conservatives without losing support from moderate Republicans and Democrats. But the proposal also risks satisfying neither faction. Republican Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning outlined a proposal this week that would grow the Medicaid health care plan to cover an added 150,000 or so low-income Kansans. (Koranda, 10/24)
Supporters of Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma said they submitted more than enough signatures on Thursday to get the measure on the ballot in 2020. The "Yes on 802" campaign said it submitted more than 313,000 signatures, far more than the roughly 178,000 it needed, to qualify to get Medicaid expansion on the ballot in Oklahoma next year. (Sullivan, 10/24)
TennCare officials say they're sorting through roughly 1,700 public comments on the state's proposal to block grant a portion of its Medicaid funding. In a legislative hearing on Thursday, lawmakers heard input from several industry stakeholders, some of whom expressed concerns with the proposal, while also affirming some perceived benefits of the plan. (Allison, 10/24)
More than 1,600 Minnesotans have lost Medicaid coverage after they failed to turn in a form required by a new federal rule. The form is designed to help states make sure that certain people — including the elderly and people with disabilities — meet the income requirements of the Medicaid program. (Roth, 10/24)
Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About Medicaid
Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for people with low incomes, serves more than 70 million people, covers 1 in every 5 births in the U.S. and foots more than half the nation’s bill for long-term care. Yet Medicaid isn’t one program, it’s 56 separate programs (one for each state plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territories). Understanding Medicaid isn’t easy, but with plans to overhaul the health system back in the news, it’s critical. (10/24)
