Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Officials Push To Remove Medicaid 30-Day Waiting Period
Florida health officials want to remove Medicaid's 30-day wait period so people can automatically enroll for health insurance once they're deemed eligible. The proposed amendment would also get patients information more quickly about their plan options to encourage them to choose their own plan instead of being automatically enrolled in one. (3/30)
West Virginia Medicaid recipients are being switched from a monthly card to an annual card. The change takes effect Wednesday. The state's Bureau for Medical Services says it will save the state about $2.5 million a year. (3/31)
The Affordable Care Act has provided a path for 420,500 low-income New Jersey residents to gain insurance through the Medicaid program, but a new study says the state ranks last in the nation in doctors willing to treat them. Just 38.7 percent of New Jersey physicians said they accepted new Medicaid patients in 2013 — far below the national average of nearly 69 percent, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Jersey is the only state where fewer than half of the doctors accepted new Medicaid patients. California, at 54.2 percent is second-lowest in the nation. (Livio, 3/31)
