Gridlock over: Virginia lawmakers approve Medicaid expansion

The Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday evening to a state budget expanding Medicaid coverage to the state's poor, ending years of partisan gridlock on the issue. The state Senate voted in favor of expansion after a full day of debate.

Correction: XGR-Medicaid Expansion story

An elderly woman with dementia who vanished from a care facility nearly two weeks ago has been found dead in a stairwell at a San Francisco hospital campus _ and her daughter wants to know how she died. An elderly woman with dementia who vanished from a care facility nearly two weeks ago has been found dead in a stairwell at a San Francisco hospital campus _ and her daughter wants to know how she died.

Democrats want Medicaid work requirement waiver rescinded

U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, Marcy Kaptur, Marcia Fudge and Joyce Beatty in a letter Thursday questioned "the very rationale" of a Medicaid waiver Ohio submitted to the federal government May 1. It lays out details for imposing a work and community engagement requirement state lawmakers passed last summer.

Kasich unsure how much he’ll back GOP nominee for Ohio gov.

Fresh off a victory in Ohio's primary election, the Democratic nominee for the state's top office is reaching out to supporters of outgoing Republican Gov. John Kasich, whose policies have alienated many GOP supporters in recent years. Democrat Richard Cordray, who led the federal consumer protection bureau under President Barack Obama, pledged in a video his campaign released Friday that he'll maintain Kasich's expansion of Medicaid and the state's privatized economic development office, which critics say lacks accountability.

Under Trump proposal, lawful immigrants might be inclined to shun health benefits

The Trump administration is considering a policy change that might discourage immigrants who are seeking permanent residency from using government-supported health care, a scenario that is alarming some doctors, hospitals and patient advocates. Under the proposed plan, a lawful immigrant holding a visa could be passed over for getting permanent residency - a green card - if they use Medicaid, a subsidized Obamacare plan, food stamps, tax credits or a list of other non-cash government benefits, according to a draft of the plan published by The Washington Post.

Report: Legal marijuana linked to opioid-use declines amid drug crisis

Some states allowing medical marijuana and recreational pot saw declines in opioid prescribing as authorities pushed urgent efforts to combat the historic American drug crisis. Medicaid patients, for example, are getting about 5.9 percent fewer prescription painkillers in medical marijuana states.

Outsourcing at Kansas revenue department imperils dozens of IT jobs

Dozens of information technology employees face layoffs at the Kansas Department of Revenue in conjunction with a $50 million, 10-year contract to outsource development and operation of a new tax management computer system. The technical services deal with CGI, which has not previously been reported, would require a portion of agency employees targeted for layoffs to work side-by-side with CGI consultants prior to dismissal in August.

Michigan may be next to set Medicaid work, training rules

Four years after agreeing to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income adults, Michigan Republicans want an estimated 350,000 enrollees who are not working to get a job - or, at the very least, to start preparing to enter the labor force. Their aim is threefold: to rein in a massive, costly government health insurance program they say has grown far beyond its basic mission, to help businesses fill job openings and to reinforce the importance of work for abled-bodied people.

Paul Ryan: Entitlement reform is the policy goal that ‘got away’

Speaker Paul Ryan said the reforms, which have passed in GOP-authored budgets over the years, have never cleared the Senate and faced opposition by former President Barack Obama. House Speaker Paul Ryan said he decided to retire in part because he was able to accomplish many of his top goals, including a massive overhaul of the tax code.

Two transgender residents sue Wisconsin over discriminatory Medicaid rule

Photo of Sara Ann Makenzie, one of two transgender Wisconsin residents challenging a state regulation that prohibits low-income Medicaid beneficiaries from obtaining medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria. Credit: Spencer Micka Photography Top surgery, a common reference for chest reconstruction surgery for transgender patients, is a widely accepted and effective surgical procedure for treating gender dysphoria.

How Arkansas Republican primary voters learned to stop worrying and love Obamacare

Don't miss Jay Barth's column in this week's Arkansas Times on the evolution of opinion on Medicaid expansion among Arkansas GOP voters. Barth digs in to a doozy of a finding in a recent Talk Business poll, one I also noted last week : A substantial plurality of Arkansas Republican primary voters now support Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid expansion supporters in Virginia have new hope

Executive Director of the Lackey Free Clinic, Carol Sale, gestures during an interview at the Lackey Free Clinic in Yorktown, Va., Thursday, March 1, 2018. Virginia lawmakers aren't going to pass a budget on schedule this year, the second time in four years that disagreements over Medicaid expansion have led to a stalemate.

Dave Solomon’s State House Dome: Medicaid number in dispute

Republican leaders in the state legislature last week unveiled their long-awaited proposal to continue the expansion of Medicaid in New Hampshire, hoping to continue government-funded health insurance for the 50,000 or so Granite Staters who've come on board since eligibility was expanded as part of Obamacare.