State Health Watch 2011-09-01

Are block grants the wave of the future for Medicaid?

If recent state efforts to reform Medicaid, including Rhode Island's and Texas's, prove to be successful, we are likely to see similar approaches in other states, says Elizabeth Weeks Leonard, JD, associate professor of law at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Ohio Medicaid prepares for reform; optional services taken off table

Ohio Medicaid managed to keep optional services off the table throughout the recession, despite having a "fundamentally changed" economy in the state, according to Medicaid director John McCarthy.

Better management of duals is Ohio Medicaid's survival plan

Ohio Medicaid got by with policy changes and rate reductions for the past two years, says Medicaid director John McCarthy, but future efforts are going to focus on better management of high-cost clients, including dual eligibles.

Some argue Medicaid can't meet obligations without fundamental reform

Many of the current fiscal challenges faced by states appear similar at first glance, says Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors in Washington, DC, but they are never truly the same. "States are all in very different positions," he says. "The block grant issue is an interesting one."

Medicaid clients may pay higher copays for inappropriate ED use

While many cost-cutting measures being proposed by states to save money in their Medicaid programs require a waiver, this is not necessarily the case with emergency department copays as states already have some flexibility to do this, notes Joan Alker, co-executive director at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families and a research associate professor at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute.

Alabama Medicaid targets ED overuse, but not with copays

Alabama Medicaid hasn't made any changes to its copays, which are $3 for outpatient hospital visits and exempted for emergencies, nursing home patients, pregnant women, children or patients receiving family planning services, and doesn't intend to do so, according to the state's Medicaid medical director, Robert Moon, MD.

Medicaid's mandatory mental health screenings ID 14,000 at-risk children

Massachusetts' new court-ordered mental health screening and intervention program led to 220,000 more children being given screenings, and 14,000 more children being identified as behaviorally and emotionally at risk, according to a recent study.

Many physicians report barriers to benefits of e-prescribing

The benefits of e-prescribing to patient care are often touted, but the reality is that physician practices often find some features cumbersome and unreliable, according to a new study from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) in Washington, DC.

Medicaid providers face barriers to "meaningful use"

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will spend nearly $425,000 over two years on a study to identify barriers to Medicaid providers meeting electronic health records (EHR) "meaningful use" criteria. Focus groups of eligible Medicaid providers will be established, including providers that have adopted an EHR, providers that have not adopted an EHR, and a dental focus group.

New round of Medicaid cuts coming, due to loss of enhanced FMAP

Illinois Medicaid anticipates a $1.2 billion loss to general revenue funds and related funds in the coming fiscal year, due to the loss of enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP), according to the state's Medicaid administrator, Theresa Eagleson.

For states with family planning waivers, many dollars at stake

Family planning waivers have allowed Medicaid programs in 28 states to benefit from the 90% federal matching rate for people who would not otherwise be eligible for those services, notes E. Kathleen Adams, PhD, professor of health policy and management at Emory School of Public Health in Atlanta.

Special status under Medicaid

Family planning services have a special status under Medicaid, notes Judith Solomon, co-director of Health Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, DC.

Oklahoma medical home program exceeds goal of budget neutrality

Sixty percent of the 900,000 Oklahomans who were provided healthcare in fiscal year 2010 by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority received care from the SoonerCare Choice program, which transitioned to a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model in January 2009.

Impact of early retirees eligible for Medicaid could be small

Several million middle class people making up to $64,000 will potentially be eligible for Medicaid in 2014, according to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For over 20 years, tax law has generally excluded a portion of Social Security benefits from income for federal tax purposes, notes Chris Stenrud, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).

State Health Watch Archives – September 1, 2011

September 1, 2011