Latest California Healthline Stories
California Nursing Home Residents Told To Find New Homes
Dozens of frail nursing home residents have been informed by their Medi-Cal managed-care plans that they are no longer eligible for long-term care. Some health care advocates and legal aid attorneys fear that such terminations will increase as the state implements mandatory managed care for nursing home residents.
States Try A Gentler Approach To Getting Medicaid Enrollees To Work
Facing GOP pressure to install work requirements for adults getting Medicaid coverage, some states seek instead to offer more opportunities for job training.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Pharma Sells States On ‘Netflix Model’ To Wipe Out Hep C. But At What Price?
Manufacturers of lucrative drugs say they’re offering discounts off the high sticker prices ― but taxpayers footing the big bills might never know what the state is paying or if it’s getting a good deal.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About Medicaid
Medicare’s sister program actually covers more people than Medicare. It’s complex and sometimes confusing, but Medicaid is critical to states, health care providers and the more than 70 million people it serves. In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner interviews Diane Rowland, formerly EVP and Executive Director of the Medicaid Program at the Kaiser Family Foundation and one of the nation’s top Medicaid experts. Then Rovner, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss some of the current debates surrounding Medicaid and its future.
Compression Garments Can Ease Lymphedema. Covering Costs? Not So Easy.
Private insurance plans vary in coverage for compression garments, and some fall short of meeting patients’ needs. Although Medicaid programs cover some of these expenses, Medicare does not.
Age-Old Health Care Debate Shifts From Insuring More People To Cutting Costs
U.S. political parties for years have argued about the role of government in providing health care and expanding coverage to more people. But as the cost of medical services continues to grow faster than most Americans’ incomes, even people with private insurance coverage are finding the cost of care becoming unaffordable, KHN’s Julie Rovner writes in a new article in BMJ.
Why Hospitals Are Getting Into The Housing Business
Hospital systems now invest in housing to help some of their most frequent patients. This allows them to safely discharge patients who otherwise would have no place to go, freeing up beds for sicker patients and saving the hospitals money.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Trump Turns To Medicare
President Donald Trump, dogged by an impeachment inquiry, tries to change the subject by unveiling an executive order aimed at expanding the role of private Medicare health plans. The Trump administration also launched an effort this week to expand “wellness” programs aimed at getting people with insurance to practice better health habits – even though research has shown the efforts don’t generally improve health or save money. This week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Tenn. Block Grant Experiment Would Boost Federal Funding, State Medicaid Chief Says
In a Q&A with Kaiser Health News, Tennessee Medicaid Director Gabe Roberts says state officials are requesting a modified block grant from federal officials because it would save money and allow the state to keep some of that savings.