Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
President Donald Trump shares a laugh with Ms.Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Secretary Tom Price, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Vice President Mike Pence on... President Donald Trump introduces Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach of Ireland, to Wilbur Ross, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in the West Wing Lobby on Thursday, March 16, 2017, upon the Prime Minister's arrival to the White House.
Lawmakers in more than two-thirds of the states are considering ways to reduce prescription drug costs, including importing them from Canada, as they strive to balance budgets without knowing for sure what their governments' tabs will be. A total of 87 bills in 34 states of all political stripes seek to save money on prescription drugs, according to the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy.
In this Friday, July 8, 2016, file photo, a pharmacy technician fills a prescription at a pharmacy, in Sacramento, Calif. Lawmakers in almost half the states are considering ways in 2018 to reduce prescription drug costs, including importing them from Canada.
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West Virginia's Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday proposed a five-point strategy to rein in opioids abuse in his hard-hit corner of Appalachia, from an "enforcement surge" of 150 state troopers to limiting certain fills of pain pills to just three days. The legislative package would shield prescribers who decline to prescribe opioids - so doctors don't put economic incentives over safe care - tighten up prescribing practices under the state Medicaid program and force doctors to crosscheck a prescribing database every time they write a script for opioids, instead of just once a year.
Now, the Trump administration, in which they both serve, has allowed the state to implement even more changes in the safety net program -- most notably by requiring some Medicaid recipients to work. The state, which has served as a Medicaid expansion model for Republicans, announced Friday that it will require certain Medicaid recipients to get jobs or participate in other community activities starting in 2019.
Efforts to rein in abuse of a drug discount program for hospitals that serve a high number of low-income patients could cost St. Charles Health System an estimated $3 million in revenue in 2018. The 340B program, created by Congress in 1992, requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to give deep discounts to safety-net hospitals and health clinics.
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced yesterday that Indiana has received an extension to continue operation of the state's Healthy Indiana Plan through Feb. 28. The current HIP program was set to expire Jan. 31. "We had hoped to receive approval of our expanded HIP program by Wednesday. We're close but we are still working through the final details of our new plan with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ," said Governor Eric Holcomb.
Republicans in the Virginia Senate on Thursday tabled legislation that would have expanded Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of lower-income residents of Virginia. Voting along party lines, the Senate Education and Health Committee indefinitely postponed action on the proposal.
It wasn't only Democratic-leaning counties in Oregon that voted to impose a tax on hospitals and health insurers to pay for Medicaid for low-income residents - several counties that voted for Donald Trump also helped propel the ballot measure to resounding "yes" vote. As president, Trump endorsed Republican bills to repeal the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid.
In an ironic twist, the Trump administration's embrace of work requirements for low-income people on Medicaid is prompting lawmakers in some conservative states to resurrect plans to expand health care for the poor. Trump's move has been widely criticized as threatening the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.
Oregon approved taxes on hospitals, health insurers and managed care companies in an unusual special election Tuesday that asked voters - and not lawmakers - how to pay for Medicaid costs that now include coverage of hundreds of thousands of low-income residents added to the program's rolls under the Affordable Care Act. Measure 101 was passing handily in early returns Tuesday night.
A double whammy of federal budget cuts might force many hospitals, particularly those that serve poor or rural communities, to scale back services or even shut their doors. The $3.6 billion in cuts this year - $2 billion from a program that sends federal dollars to hospitals that serve a high percentage of Medicaid or uninsured patients, and $1.6 billion from a drug discount program - will have the greatest effect on so-called safety net hospitals that provide medical care for all comers, no matter their ability to pay.
The single largest government program in the United States will soon have an annual budget of $1 trillion a year. Yet even that amount isn't sufficient to fulfill the promises it has made.
Calling it an "exciting day," Gov. Matt Bevin on Friday said federal authorities have given Kentucky broad power to reshape its Medicaid program, making it the first state in the nation to win such approval under rules that allow states to include work requirements for some recipients. "I am excited by the fact that Kentucky will now lead the nation," Bevin said at a news conference at the Capitol Rotunda.
In a major policy shift that could affect millions of low-income people, the Trump administration said Thursday it is offering a path for states that want to seek work requirements on Medicaid recipients. Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said work and community involvement can make a positive difference in people's lives and in their health.
Robert Francis O'Rourke Seven Texas lawmakers leaving Congress means a younger, more diverse delegation Periscope shines during House blackout Lawmakers form Term Limits Caucus MORE Lloyd Alton Doggett Pelosi denounces GOP tax reform as 'armageddon' Live coverage: Day three of the Ways and Means GOP tax bill markup Live coverage: Day two of the Ways and Means GOP tax bill markup MORE , the Democrats also said Alex Azar should be pressed on his commitment to uphold the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare. This won't be the first time in the hot seat for Azar, who faced the Senate Health Committee last month in what was billed as a courtesy hearing.
Democrats are shifting to offense on health care, emboldened by successes in defending the Affordable Care Act. They say their ultimate goal is a government guarantee of affordable coverage for all.
Some states could run out of funding for their Children's Health Insurance Program as early as this month, despite recently approved spending by Congress that was expected to keep the program running through the end of March, federal health officials said Friday. All states should have sufficient funding at least through Jan. 19 thanks to Congress' $2.85 billion infusion last month, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.