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Research from UnidosUS, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights advocacy organization, first shared with NBC News, shows that an average Spanish-language caller had to wait nearly four times longer than an English-language caller to be able to speak to a representative at Florida’s Medicaid call center. And that’s if their call wasn’t dropped. Almost one third (30%) of all Spanish-language calls were disconnected before the caller reached a representative, compared to 10% of English-language calls, according to the report published Thursday. (Acevedo, 8/17)

As millions of Medicaid recipients face the potential loss of health coverage for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, state call centers are getting inundated with questions from people needing help. In some cases, federal officials say, it’s taking too long to get answers. Nearly one-third of the states have received warnings from federal Medicaid officials that their lengthy call center wait times may be causing people to hang up — and give up — as they attempt to renew Medicaid coverage amid a massive nationwide effort to clean up the rolls of the government health insurance program for lower-income residents. (Lieb, 8/17)

With a Medicaid expansion kickoff likely delayed further in North Carolina as General Assembly budget negotiations drag on, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper wrapped up a week of rural travel Thursday to attempt to build pressure upon Republicans to hustle on an agreement. Cooper met with elected officials and physicians in Martin, Richmond and Yadkin counties to highlight local health care challenges, which include shuttered hospitals, rampant drug abuse and high-quality jobs. (8/17)

As the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services weighs the future for hospital-at-home services under Medicare, providers are pressing more states to extend it to Medicaid beneficiaries. Eight states—Arizona, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas—either have policies or have passed legislation allowing Medicaid beneficiaries to receive hospital-level care in their homes, and New York is considering such a move. (Eastabrook, 8/17)

The rising cost of prescription drugs is squeezing Medicare enrollees. A new report by AARP found that the top 25 drugs — covered under Medicare Part D — have almost tripled in price since they first entered the market. The report also found that all but one drug listed saw price increases that exceeded the rate of inflation. (Paul, 8/17)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a plan to kickstart provider participation in one of its largest alternative payment models, but providers say they're leery that recent changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program will prove sufficiently enticing to holdouts. CMS' goal is that all fee-for-service Medicare enrollees will be under accountable care organizations or other valued-based care arrangements by 2030, and the agency is relying on potential cost savings to shore up the Medicare trust fund, which is projected to run dry by 2031. (Tepper, 8/17)

51ÊÓƵ Health News: A New Medicare Proposal Would Cover Training For Family Caregivers 

Even with extensive caregiving experience, Patti LaFleur was unprepared for the crisis that hit in April 2021, when her mother, Linda LaTurner, fell out of a chair and broke her hip. LaTurner, 71, had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia seven years before. For two years, she’d been living with LaFleur, who managed insulin injections for her mother’s Type 1 diabetes, helped her shower and dress, dealt with her incontinence, and made sure she was eating well. (Graham, 8/18)