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House Republicans rejected legislation Thursday that would have permanently continued the state’s expanded Medicaid program, which provides nearly 57,000 low-income Granite Staters health insurance. (Timmins, 1/4)

Effective Jan. 1, through its Trans Health Equity Act, Maryland Medicaid coverage has expanded gender-affirming services and procedures. It has expanded from mental health services, hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery to include body contouring, vocal surgery and therapy, hair removal, puberty blockers, fertility preservation and various other cosmetic surgeries. It also covers the revision or reversal of prior gender-affirming procedures. (Sweeney, 1/5)

Medicaid expansion was long politically impossible in Georgia. Now it’s just unlikely. Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns says he wants lawmakers to consider more health coverage in the state as their session begins Monday. But he’s careful not to label it Medicaid expansion, and certainly not “Obamacare.” (Amy, 1/4)

BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid members under 19 can keep their health insurance benefits for at least 12 months, according to a press release form the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. "This policy change ensures Wisconsin children will continue to get the care they need when they need it," said DHS Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson. "Families will have peace of mind knowing their kids can get wellness checks, vaccines, and more to stay healthy." (Cuevas, 1/4)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Most People Dropped In Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Never Tried To Renew Coverage, Utah Finds 

A first-of-its-kind survey of people who lost Medicaid coverage last year found just over half made no effort to renew their coverage — in many cases because they were unable to navigate paperwork requirements. The survey sheds light on why millions of beneficiaries nationwide were dropped from the federal-state health insurance program for “procedural reasons.” �鶹Ů�� Health News obtained the survey, which Utah’s Medicaid program paid more than $20,000 to conduct, through a public records request. (Galewitz, 1/4)

Entrepreneurs and the venture capital firms that fund them have largely overlooked solutions for the Medicaid program. Our recent internal analysis, conducted in collaboration with Rock Health, highlights that from 2011 to 2022, only about 7.7 percent ($7.75 billion) of approximately $101 billion invested in all forms of digital health was raised to support companies engaging with Medicaid plans (see exhibit 1). (Velasquez and Gebremedhin, 1/4)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped In Medicare Advantage Plans 

In 2016, Richard Timmins went to a free informational seminar to learn more about Medicare coverage. “I listened to the insurance agent and, basically, he really promoted Medicare Advantage,” Timmins said. The agent described less expensive and broader coverage offered by the plans, which are funded largely by the government but administered by private insurance companies. For Timmins, who is now 76, it made economic sense then to sign up. And his decision was great, for a while. Then, three years ago, he noticed a lesion on his right earlobe. (Tribble, 1/5)

UnitedHealthcare could face potential federal fines for allegedly creating misleading advertisements touting its Medicare Advantage plan. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the ads, targeting elderly, low-income and disabled adults, described added benefits, but instead actually restricted access to care. (Martinez, 1/4)

Hospitals purchased by private equity firms have higher rates of adverse patient safety events than other facilities, according to a recent study, and its authors said the findings could be indicative of how the acquisitions affect hospital operations. The study published in JAMA found hospital-acquired conditions like surgical infections and pressure ulcers increased by 25% among Medicare patients at private equity-owned facilities compared with a control group of hospitals. (Devereaux, 1/4)