Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ohio Budget Provision Puts Medicaid Coverage At Risk For Some Poor Children, Adults
Ohio鈥檚 former Medicaid director warned on Wednesday that thousands of poor children and adults would lose tax-funded health coverage under provisions the House tucked into the state budget. The plan would require most children, parents and adults to make monthly contributions to a health-savings account or lose Medicaid benefits, regardless of their income. A new report by John R. Corlett, president and executive director of the Center for Community Solutions, a non-partisan research group in Cleveland, said a mother of three earning 100 percent of the federal poverty level or about $20,000 a year would pay $100 a month to cover her children. (Candisky, 5/13)
An attorney with the Alaska Department of Law says litigation against a vendor hired to develop and implement a Medicaid payment system was put on hold to allow continued work to resolve major system problems. Stacie Kraly told the House Finance Committee, meeting in Anchorage, that the state and Xerox plan to meet by July 31 to establish whether the state finds the system acceptable. If it does, the state health department would seek system certification by the federal government. (5/13)
A retired state Department of Health and Human Services manager wasted more than $1.6 million by hiring as temporary employees a dozen people whom she personally knew and paying them too much, according to a state audit released Wednesday. The audit does not name the manager, but Angie Sligh was head of the office that managed information systems for Medicaid in the period covered by the audit. She retired earlier this year. Before 2013, Sligh was in charge of the installation of a Medicaid bill-paying system that is now called NCTracks. Sligh and the work of her office have been the subject of previous critical audits. (Bonner, 5/13)
The lack of access to affordable dental care for older Americans is a growing problem in Texas and across the country as baby boomers retire and people live longer. Many adults 65 and older lack dental insurance, according to dentists, health care workers and senior advocates. Medicare, the largest health provider for people 65 and older, does not cover routine dental care. Dental services under Medicaid, the federal-state health coverage plan for low-income Americans, vary by state because they are considered optional benefits. Texas, for instance, does not offer Medicaid-funded dental services for older adults. (Cho, 5/13)
