Category: Medicaid

Hospitals worry about caring for newly uninsured in GOP plan

When Colorado expanded Medicaid coverage under former President Barack Obama’s health care law, the largest provider in the Denver region hired more than 250 employees and built a $27 million primary care clinic and two new school-based clinics. Emergency rooms visits stayed flat as Denver Health Medical Center directed many of the nearly 80,000 newly insured patients into one of its 10 community health centers, where newly hired social workers and mental health therapists provided services for some of the county’s poorest residents.

Say a where’s the Democratic plan to fix ObamaCare, anyway?

Remember “mend it, don’t end it”? Democrats have floated that slogan for three years while trying to convince voters that their unhappiness with ObamaCare doesn’t mean throwing it out entirely. A year ago, Chelsea Clinton argued that the “crushing costs” of the ACA needed immediate attention, but not repeal.

Hill Republican leaders reject suggestion to move up Medicaid expansion sunset

Republican congressional leaders are rejecting Friday any hint from the White House that they should disrupt their carefully crafted bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. After CNN reported Thursday night that President Donald Trump was open to moving up the sunset of the Medicaid expansion up from 2020 to the end of this year, GOP leaders supporting the bill aren’t biting.

Meadows Pushes Changes in Obamacare Repeal Bill

Despite increasing pressure from the White House and congressional leaders, Rep. Mark Meadows isn’t backing down from his opposition to House Republicans’ legislation repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, seeking significant changes to bring conservatives on board. Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and conservative colleagues in both the House and Senate have raised major objections in the days following the release of the long-awaited health care replacement, putting in question Republicans’ ability to pass the legislation.

These are the issues with GOP’s plan to replace Obamacare

House Speaker Paul Ryan holds up a copy of the American Health Care Act – legislation to replace Obamacare – during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. As the sure to be heated legislative fight over the replacement of Obamacare gets under way, both Democrats and Republicans have expressed concerns about the bill.

Repair, don’t repeal

After years of demanding a nix and a fix of President Obama’s signature legislation on health insurance, a Republican president and Congress are finally getting their chance. House Speaker Paul Ryan.

More

Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered. Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled U.S. House.

Trump riding herd on Congress to pass Obamacare repeal

The House health care bill, dubbed the American Health Care Act , is taking heat from all sides, perhaps a sign that the House Republicans who wrote the plan are in the area of the target. Repeal the mandates but add a one-time 30% premium surcharge for those who had previously failed to buy insurance.

House Republican plan would create Obamacare cliff for 2020 presidential election

House Republicans on Monday released their long-awaited healthcare bill, but the plan would only repeal major parts of Obamacare starting in 2020 – when the political world will be engulfed in the next presidential election. This implementation timeline raises major questions about whether, if Republicans were able to overcome the current legislative hurdles and pass this plan into law, its version of repeal would actually ever go into effect.

GOP Senators Cry Foul Over Medicaid Expansion Repeal

The House Republican plan to phase out the Obamacare Medicaid expansion by 2020 may be a nonstarter for some Senate Republicans-and could potentially threaten the larger repeal-and-replace process. Shortly before House lawmakers revealed a revamped version of their Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill Monday evening, four Republican senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying they would not support an earlier draft from Feb. 10 that repeals Medicaid expansion because it “does not meet the test of stability for individuals currently enrolled in the program.”

Trump pushes state Medicaid flexibility

President Trump said state governors need flexibility on Medicaid to “make sure that no one is left out” of healthcare coverage. During an address Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, Trump pushed for giving states more power to craft Medicaid, a nod to Republican plans to move federal funding toward a block grant program or per capita caps.

Obamacare plans’ drug spending rose faster than other plans in 2016: Express Scripts

Spending on prescription drugs for health plans created under the Affordable Care Act increased last year at a rate more than three times that of other commercial plans and most government-run plans managed by Express Scripts Holding Co. Express Scripts, the largest manager of prescription drug plans for U.S. employers, on Tuesday said year-over-year spending per person for individual insurance plans sold on the Obamacare exchanges where it manages the pharmacy benefit rose 14 percent in 2016, driven by higher drug prices and utilization.

Report warns of gaps if federal health care dollars are cut

A sobering report to governors about the potential consequences of repealing the Obama-era health care law warns that federal spending cuts probably would create funding gaps for states and threaten many people with the loss of insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act has two main components for expanding coverage: subsidized private health insurance available in all 50 states, and an optional Medicaid expansion that has been accepted by 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Report: State money fallout from law repeal

A sobering report to governors about the potential consequences of repealing the Obama-era health care law warns that federal spending cuts probably would create funding gaps for states and threaten many people with the loss of insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act has two main components for expanding coverage: subsidized private health insurance available in all 50 states, and an optional Medicaid expansion that has been accepted by 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Democrats: GOP Medicaid reform plan is really about tax cuts

Tensions emerged Saturday between Democratic and Republican U.S. governors over a GOP-led proposal for a major overhaul to Medicaid, with Democrats saying the changes would take away people’s health coverage to finance tax cuts for the wealthy. GOP governors intend to present Congress with a plan that they say would give states more flexibility to administer health coverage for poorer residents while protecting states from absorbing the costs of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

GOP proposal aims to end insurance mandate in ‘Obamacare’

A draft Republican bill replacing President Barack Obama ‘s health care law would end its Medicaid expansion, scrap fines on people not buying insurance and eliminate taxes on the medical industry and higher earners. Instead, it would create tax credits worth up to $4,000, allow bigger contributions to personal health savings accounts and impose a new levy on expensive health coverage some employees get at work.

Leaked ObamaCare bill would defund Planned Parenthood

A leaked draft of the ObamaCare repeal bill from House Republicans would defund Planned Parenthood, fulfilling their long-held goal cutting off federal money to the organization. Specifically, the language in the draft would block Planned Parenthood, and other health organizations that provide abortions, from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for a year.

Bankrate glossary: Medicaid

Medicaid is a government-sponsored health program designed to ensure that low-income citizens receive quality health care. It caters to over 72.5 million U.S. citizens, including children, senior citizens, parents, pregnant women and people with disabilities.

It turns out Obamacare has staying power

House Speaker Paul Ryan listens to questions from reporters during news conference on Feb. Questions included the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. What’s the holdup, House Republicans? During the Obama administration, you passed literally dozens of bills to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act – knowing that none had any chance of being signed into law.

Three ways Republicans want to replace Obamacare

House GOP members met Thursday to hear more from committee leaders about efforts to replace the massive health reform law. In a presentation, Representatives Greg Walden of Oregon and Kevin Brady of Texas explained how the party wants to overhaul America’s health care system through the use of tax credits, health savings accounts and changes to Medicaid funding, among other measures.

Emerging GOP plan would replace parts of Obamacare as it’s repealed

Developing House Republican legislation to repeal the 2010 health care law would also include replacement provisions that are controversial among GOP rank and file, like a refundable tax credit to help individuals purchase insurance and a plan for dealing with Medicaid expansion. Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, and Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady on Thursday presented to the Republican Conference their vision for a “repeal plus” health care bill that would undo most of the Affordable Care Act and set up some pieces of a yet undeveloped Republican replacement.

Editorial: Kansas should expand Medicaid

Kansas is one of only 19 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and it’s long past time for the Legislature to extend health coverage to 150,000 low-income Kansans by passing House Bill 2064. After three days of testimony from advocates and opponents of expansion in front of the House Health and Human Services Committee, one thing is clear: There are far too many uninsured Kansans who have to live with the grim knowledge that any serious health issue could ruin them.

Obamacare hits slump, falls short of 2016 pace

After years of steady growth Obamacare’s sign-ups slumped in 2017, according to early numbers that suggest the law is struggling now that President Obama is no longer in office to give it a boost. The number of people selecting plans on the federal HealthCare.gov website dropped 4 percent this go-around compared to the 2016 season, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.

Indiana seeks to continue Medicaid expansion program

Gov. Eric Holcomb has requested the renewal of a federal waiver that allows Indiana’s Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 to serve hundreds of thousands of low-income Hoosiers. The request begins an eight-month process with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that is expected to go smoothly under President Donald Trump’s administration.

More

Top House Republicans say their outline for replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law is a pathway to greater flexibility and lower costs for consumers. Democrats see a road to ruin for millions who’d face lost coverage and higher medical expenses, particularly the poor.