Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
N.C. Lawmakers Agree On Plan To Privatize State's Medicaid Program
North Carolina will remake the system that provides health care for the poor and disabled under a compromise bill filed with the Senate clerk's office Thursday afternoon. Both the House and the Senate plan to take votes putting the $14 billion state-run program in the hands of private health insurers next Tuesday. Gov. Pat McCrory says he supports the bill. (Binker, 9/17)
Legislators have agreed to privatize North Carolina鈥檚 $15 billion Medicaid program, a change that doctors and hospitals have been fighting for months, but which some Republican legislators have championed as a remedy for unpredictable spending. Under House bill 372, three insurers would be given contracts to offer statewide Medicaid managed care plans. The state would have up to 10 contracts with 鈥減rovider-led entities,鈥 or groups of doctors and hospitals, that would enroll patients in regional managed care networks. (Bonner, 9/17)
Balance billing is particularly prevalent among a vulnerable subset of Medi-Cal recipients 鈥 those who also qualify for Medicare, the federal health program for seniors and disabled people. Folks who qualify for both are referred to as dual eligibles. A recent report by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealed a nationwide trend of healthcare providers illegally billing these individuals for charges not covered by either type of insurance. In California, Lee said, the call volume on her organization's help line doubled in the last year in large part because of complaints about balance billing among people with Medi-Cal. (Zamosky, 9/18)
Two leading Democratic legislators are asking federal administrators to block Gov. Terry Branstad鈥檚 plan to turn the state鈥檚 Medicaid program over to private companies. Sens. Amanda Ragan and Liz Mathis contend that Branstad is trying to make the shift too quickly and that he has not shown how it will save money and help poor Iowans. (Leys, 9/17)
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services on Wednesday took steps to put $17 billion worth of Medicaid business out for bid to private companies. At a time when the insurance industry considers goverment programs a growth sector, the moves are expected to attract new national competitors to Pennsylvania, where home-grown firms, such as AmeriHealth Caritas, have dominated for years. (Brubaker, 9/17)
