Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Advocates Rally In Richmond To Press Lawmakers To Expand Medicaid
Keith Oliver thought his prayers for health insurance had finally been answered when he received a card from Virginia鈥檚 Medicaid program. But the first time Oliver tried to use it, the doctor鈥檚 office told the 30-year-old part-time residential counselor that the card covered only family planning services under the program. ... Oliver was among four people to tell their stories of seeking vainly for health insurance and avoiding medical treatment without it, as health care advocates mounted a new offensive aimed at persuading the General Assembly to expand the state鈥檚 Medicaid program to uninsured adults and low-income families. (Martz, 4/3)
On Saturday morning, [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi and Mayor Mitch Landrieu had a closed-door meeting with a group of Louisiana patients. Although there were complaints about budget-breaking premiums and unaffordable prescription drugs, there also were tales of lifesaving, life-changing access to health care under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that Republicans want to repeal, Pelosi said. 鈥淭heir stories are our purpose,鈥 she said. Although Louisiana has long had one of the highest uninsured rates of any state, its struggle is mirrored across the nation, Landrieu said. 鈥淎merica will never be great if America isn鈥檛 healthy,鈥 he said, taking a dig at President Donald Trump's vow to "make America great again." (Reckdahl, 4/2)
Texas lawmakers faced with a $1.2 billion Medicaid shortfall for fiscal 2017 are weighing whether to ask the Trump administration for a waiver from federal program rules. The latest version of House鈥檚 budget, passed unanimously out of the appropriations committee last week and due to be taken up by the full body Thursday, instructed the agency responsible for administering Medicaid to 鈥減ursue flexibility from the federal government鈥 to find $1 billion in savings. (Rayasam, 4/3)
MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Mary Agnes Carey from Kaiser Health News and Henry J. Aaron from Brookings Institution about what populations Medicaid really serves and what the future holds for the program. (4/3)
