Medicaid

Private Medicaid Plans Receive Billions In Tax Dollars, With Little Oversight

5:25pm October 18, 2018

by Chad Terhune

More than two-thirds of Medicaid recipients are enrolled in privately run Medicaid managed care programs. Yet the evidence is thin these contractors improve patient care or save the government money.

Massachusetts wanted to negotiate prices and stop the use of some of the most expensive drugs in its Medicaid program. The federal government said no.

Health & Safety

A Setback For Massachusetts In States' Drive To Contain Medicaid Drug Spending

5:39pm September 12, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

Massachusetts planned to exclude expensive drugs that weren't proven to work better than existing alternatives from its Medicaid plan. Medicaid drug spending had doubled in five years.

"We would not be able to foster without Medicaid," says Sherri Croom of Tallahassee, Fla. Croom and her husband, Thomas, have fostered 27 children in the past decade. They're pictured here with four adopted children, two 18-year-old former foster daughter

Health & Safety

Foster Parents Often Struggle To Find Doctors To Treat The Kids In Their Care

7:20pm August 22, 2018

by Phil Galewitz

Foster children can have extraordinary health needs. Some states are testing a coordinated approach to care to keep these kids from slipping through the cracks.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, is eager to preserve an expansion of Medicaid that he pushed through, despite opposition from other members of his party.

Health & Safety

Ohio Gov. Kasich Stumps Again In Support Of Medicaid Expansion

6:50pm August 21, 2018

by Karen Kasler

An analysis by the state shows Medicaid expansion has cut in half the number of uninsured Ohioans. Most recipients said the expansion made it easier to find work and care for their families.

Texas officials are requiring that people who comment at Medicaid meetings on pharmaceuticals disclose more details about their ties to industry.

Health & Safety

Texas Tightens Disclosure Rules Following Medicaid Investigation

3:16pm August 17, 2018

by Liz Essley Whyte

Officials in Texas are responding to the findings of an investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity into drugmakers' influence over medication choices for Medicaid patients.

Cashiers, cooks, delivery people, fast-food workers and their supporters rallied outside New York City Hall in 2017. Their influential union, the Service Employees International Union, also includes about half a million home health aides.

Medicaid Officials Target Home Health Aides' Union Dues

5:00am August 09, 2018

by Shefali Luthra

The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would prohibit some home health workers from having union dues deducted from their paychecks. The rule would likely undercut unions' power, all agree.

Drug costs are the fastest growing part of state Medicaid budgets.

States Question Costs Of Middlemen That Manage Medicaid Drug Benefits

11:20am August 08, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

Companies that negotiate drug prices for insurance plans keep a big cut of the money. In Ohio, a battle is brewing over whether their services are worth the cost.

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In the mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, last October, children watched as U.S. Army helicopters brought a team of physicians to assess the medical needs of the local hospital and residents. Going forward, health economists say, the U.S. territory wil

Puerto Rico's Wounded Medicaid Program Faces Even Deeper Cuts

5:23pm August 01, 2018

State Medicaid programs already get much more money from the federal government than Puerto Rico Medicaid gets — and the storm-ravaged U.S. territory's safety net for the poor is barely hanging on.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey speaks about a variety of issues during an interview in his office at the Arizona Capitol in May 2018, in Phoenix.

Health & Safety

Arizona Governor Takes Steps To Blunt Industry Influence On Medicaid

4:45pm July 27, 2018

by Liz Essley Whyte

After an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and NPR into conflicts of interest in Medicaid decisions about drugs, Arizona's governor added new transparency rules.

Drug companies have infiltrated nearly every part of the process that determines how their drugs will be covered by Medicaid.

Health & Safety

Investigation: Patients' Drug Options Under Medicaid Heavily Influenced By Drugmakers

11:18am July 18, 2018

Drug companies have infiltrated nearly every part of the process that determines how their drugs will be covered by Medicaid, an investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity finds.

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