State Health Watch Archives – December 1, 2009
December 1, 2009
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Many unknowns mean long-term fiscal uncertainty for Medicaid
During Utah's last legislative session, a decision was made to commit a minimal amount of dollars to Medicaid expansion, since it was unknown whether the enrollment growth surge the state was seeing would continue. -
Fiscal Fitness: How States Cope: Vermont seeks to maintain its 'generous' Medicaid program
Although Vermont Medicaid, which offers some of the most generous benefits of any state, proposed several cuts to its program to make the program sustainable in the long run, the legislature didn't approve any of these. As a result, Medicaid was forced to make provider cuts to get through the short term. -
Is 'doing business differently' enough to help cash flow?
There is no question that states are working hard to get better value for their Medicaid dollar by implementing various quality initiatives with an eye toward reducing long-term costs. "They are constantly trying to work on program integrity issues. But the problem with some of the quality things, in particular, is that it's hard to see overnight savings," says Robin Rudowitz, a principal policy analyst for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured in Washington, DC. "States are still implementing those things. -
New consortium finds common ground in quest to advance medical homes
Eight state teams are setting out to increase their Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees' access to high-performing medical homes. They will do so, in part, by learning from the experience of eight state teams who came before them. -
Report validates the value of Medicaid health plans
Medicaid health plans improve quality and yield cost savings ranging from half of 1% to 20%, according a March 2009 report from The Lewin Group in Falls Church, VA, "Medicaid Managed Care Cost Savings-A Synthesis of 24 Studies. -
Extra diagnostic testing can cost hospitals big
Hospitals are losing large amounts of money on extra and inappropriate diagnostic testing and procedures, as well as outpatient procedures performed in the inpatient setting, because third-party payers frequently are denying the claims...