Tag archives: Medicaid expansion

Status of Medicaid reform in Kentucky, Mississippi and Maine

By Thomas Dowdell (US) on July 12, 2018 Posted in News from DC

On January 11, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to State Medicaid Directors that signaled their support of section 1115 demonstration projects that include work or community engagement requirements, as previously summarized in the Health Law Pulse. CMS prompted State Medicaid Directors to respond to this letter with proposals … Continue reading

Coalition of conservative groups release outline of plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act

By Thomas Dowdell (US) on June 20, 2018 Posted in News from DC

On June 19, the Health Policy Consensus Group, a coalition of conservative groups including the Heritage Foundation, the Galen Institute and the Hoover Institution, released an outline of a new proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The plan is similar to the Graham-Cassidy bill that Congress failed to enact last year. … Continue reading

Virginia to expand Medicaid in January 2019; Utah will vote on Medicaid expansion this November

By Jeff Wurzburg (US) on June 4, 2018 Posted in News from DC

Virginia is expected to become the 33rd state (plus the District of Columbia) to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) following the passage of a budget by the Virginia legislature. The expansion will take effect on January 1, 2019 and it is expected to provide coverage to close to 400,000 individuals. Prior attempts … Continue reading

Maine court hears argument on Medicaid expansion

By Jeff Wurzburg (US) on May 29, 2018 Posted in News from DC

Maine Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy heard arguments on May 24, 2018 about whether Governor Paul LePage must take steps to expand Medicaid in Maine. In April, a group of residents and advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit against Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for failing to expand Medicaid following the November 2017 … Continue reading

Senate Republicans unveil health care reform bill; CMS proposes updates to the Quality Payment Program

By on June 26, 2017 Posted in News from DC

On June 22, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled the draft Senate health care reform bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. Earlier today, Senate Republican leadership released a new discussion draft. As of this afternoon, Republican leadership reportedly has firm commitments from less than the 50 Senators needed to approve the legislation … Continue reading

Senate Republicans consider options for ending Medicaid expansion, projected insurer participation in 2018 health insurance exchanges; MedPAC report to Congress

By on June 19, 2017 Posted in News from DC

Republican Senators previously appointed by Senate GOP leadership reportedly are continuing to draft Senate health care legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without any scheduled committee hearings on the bill. While the text of the Senate health care bill remains undisclosed, Republican Senators have reportedly been working to reach a consensus … Continue reading

Republican Senators continue work on health care reform legislation while another insurer withdraws from a state ACA marketplace; U.S. Senate and House of Representatives committees hold hearings this week on the cost of prescription drugs and funding for safety net health programs

By Thomas Dowdell (US) on June 12, 2017 Posted in News from DC

Last Tuesday, Senior Republican leadership in the Senate held a closed-door briefing for Republican Senate members regarding Senate health care reform legislation. Senior Republican leadership reportedly indicated that they favor the retention of guaranteed protections for individuals with preexisting conditions, a more gradual roll back of the expansion of Medicaid, and may opt to keep … Continue reading

House narrowly passes American Health Care Act; Republican Senators signal they will draft a health care bill from scratch

By Thomas Dowdell (US) and Mark Faccenda (US) on May 8, 2017 Posted in News from DC

Following a series of thwarted efforts and delays, on May 4, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a narrow margin of 217-213 the American Health Care Act of 2017 (H.R. 1628) (AHCA), a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation first estimated … Continue reading

Trump Administration and Republican Congressional leadership shift focus following non-vote on ACA repeal and replace legislation; States push for Medicaid expansion

By Mark Faccenda (US) and Thomas Dowdell (US) on April 3, 2017 Posted in News from DC

Republican Congressional leadership quickly reprioritized and refocused their efforts following the Trump Administration and House Republican leadership’s failure to secure enough votes for full House passage of the American Health Care Act (“AHCA”), the bill intended to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). As previously covered, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the … Continue reading

News from DC – GOP’s Draft Bill Illuminates Efforts to Repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

By on February 28, 2017 Posted in News from DC

While Congress was in recess last week, members met with constituents at home. For those senators and representatives who held town hall meetings, the ACA repeal and replace effort was the hot topic. Many constituents expressed concerns about loss of health insurance coverage. Meanwhile, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 48 percent of … Continue reading

A first look at the healthcare industry under President Trump

By Thomas Dowdell (US) on November 14, 2016 Posted in News from DC, Regulatory

The “100 Day Action Plan” of President-elect Donald Trump promised to bring broad and sweeping change to the current laws governing the healthcare industry in the US Specifically, Trump’s 100 Day Action Plan called for the full repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and its replacement with health savings accounts, cross-states … Continue reading