TRP News with James Andre. This week – presidential hopefuls visit the Iowa state fair, Sanders distances himself from an apology and his African American outreach director, the Federal Reserve may be raising rates and progressives are pushing back, Warren and McCain want to bring back Glass-Steagall, several states cut off federal funds for Planned…
Tag: medicaid
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – Weekly News Digest
This week we have updates on the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the Tom Cotton letter, Medicaid funding to the states, the Clinton emails, and another edition of “Why Vote?” – red versus blue states and policy versus popularity, and why you should not vote third party.
Medicaid Opinions: Several State Leaders Come In For Heat For Not Moving Toward Expansion
Editorials and columnists in several papers around the country pressed officials toward accepting a Medicaid expansion and offered suggestions about implementation. Also, comments continued about a recent study on Medicaid. Los Angeles Times: A Public Health Compromise For California The Legislature is poised to offer health insurance to millions of additional low-income Californians, with…
Report Estimates Employer Costs From States’ Refusal To Expand Medicaid
According to Bloomberg, the report by Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. estimates the cost to employers to be $1 billion. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on state-level decisions and developments related to the expansion. Bloomberg: Refusal To Expand Medicaid May Cost Employers $1 Billion Governors who refuse to expand their Medicaid programs for the poor…
Paul Ryan’s budget: Social engineering with a side of deficit reduction
Here is Paul Ryan’s path to a balanced budget in three sentences: He cuts deep into spending on health care for the poor and some combination of education, infrastructure, research, public-safety, and low-income programs. The Affordable Care Act’s Medicare cuts remain, but the military is spared, as is Social Security. There’s a vague individual…
Activists, Lawmakers Wrestle With Medicaid Expansion
This aspect of the health law is a hot topic in Texas, Florida, California and Missouri — among other places. Meanwhile, a Medicare trustee questions the viability of the federal funding commitment. The Hill: Medicare Trustee Doubts Future Funding For Medicaid Expansion A Medicare trustee is questioning whether the federal government will maintain its commitment…
Florida Gov. Rick Scott Wants A Favor—From Obama
Last June, after the Supreme Court decision making the Medicaid expansion optional for the states, Scott said he won’t take the money. But when Florida hospitals realized Scott’s decision could cost them about $650 million a year in other federal payments, they started lobbying furiously to get him to change his mind. So now,…
Medicaid Cost Estimates Trigger Florida Flap
Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s concerns about the health law’s Medicaid expansion during a meeting Monday with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is continuing to draw criticism that he is exaggerating the potential cost. The Associated Press: Fla. Gov. Under Fire For Health Care Cost Estimate Gov. Rick Scott is again facing criticism that he is overstating the potential…
Florida Governor Inflates Cost Of Medicaid Expansion By 2,600% To Avoid Implementing Obamacare
Internal email messages uncovered by Health News Florida reveal that Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) is knowingly citing inaccurate cost estimates to justify his refusal to expand Florida’s Medicaid program. Though the governor’s office is fully aware that the numbers are wrong, Scott continues to use them anyway, the documents show. Florida, which has one…
Report: U.S. Health Spending Grew At Record Slow Pace For Third Consecutive Year
The country’s health care bill tallied $2.7 trillion, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Some indicators, though, suggest the slowed growth may not last. The New York Times: Growth Of Health Spending Stays Low National health spending climbed to $2.7 trillion in 2011, or an average of $8,700 for every person in…
Colorado Will Expand Medicaid, Claims Cost Savings Are In Progress
The state plans to expand its Medicaid program as much as the federal health law envisions, without spending any extra money to make it happen. Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Colorado Will Expand Medicaid, Governor Announces Gov. John Hickenlooper said Colorado will expand its Medicaid program as much as the federal health care law calls for, and he said…
Expanding Medicaid Would Save Florida $100 Million Per Year
Obama has won re-election and the health law’s implementation is marching forward, Scott has showed some signs that he may consider softening his stance. And a new report from Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute could give him even more reason to do, since it concludes that Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion would save Florida about $100 million…
Republican Platform Calls Medicaid a ‘Black Hole.’
Talking about dismantling health care for the poor might seem to clash with balloons and funny hats, but this is a Republican convention, so it fits right in with the celebratory mood. Many in the parade of governors scheduled to speak tonight have long complained about how much they are forced to spend to keep…
Health Providers Support Medicaid Expansion As Govs Draw Line In The Sand
Even as state executives such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott remain firm in their opposition to the health law’s Medicaid expansion, health providers such as Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tony Cosgrove express their support for it. The Associated Press: Working Poor Stand At Center Of Medicaid Debate Families like…
Administration Warns States Not To Roll Back Medicaid Eligibility
The nation’s top health official signaled Tuesday that states should not try to use the Supreme Court’s ruling on President Obama’s health care law to make it more difficult for low-income people to qualify for Medicaid. While the Supreme Court upheld most provisions of the health law in its landmark ruling last month, the justices…
Study: Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Would Dramatically Reduce Numbers Of Uninsured In Conservative States
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted two years shows that all states would see significant reductions in their uninsured populations because of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, at almost no cost to state budgets. But the effect would be particularly dramatic in southern states with low Medicaid participation — the conservative states most likely to…
High Uninsurance In States Prepping To Stymie The Affordable Care Act
Many of the governors threatening to stymie implementation of the Affordable Care Act preside over states with high uninsurance rates, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser data breaks down each state’s population by source of insurance, and by percent uninsured. Unsurprisingly, Massachusetts has the lowest uninsurance rate in the country, thanks to…
GOP governors say Medicaid costs are already breaking states’ backs. Are they right?
The Republican governors vowing to opt out of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion argue the program is already burdening cash-strapped state governments and would be a poison pill for state budgets in the long run. Are they right? When you look at all spending on state programs—including money from both federal and state governments—Medicaid is the single…
CBO: Medicare Spending To Reach $1 Trillion By 2022
Outlays for Medicare, Medicaid and “other mandatory federal programs related to health care accounted for just under 40 percent of mandatory spending in 2011,” the Congressional Budget Office reported today and will continue to grow into the future. For instance, a boost in the number of beneficiaries will increase Medicare spending to more than $1…
Georgia lawmaker who sponsored welfare drug testing bill busted for DUI
A Georgia Republican who co-sponsored legislation that would require random drug testing of welfare recipients was arrested on early Friday morning and charged with DUI, according to Channel 2 Action News. Rep. Kip Smith was pulled over after a police officer witnessed him run through a red light. The officer said he could smell the…