Medicaid Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Commentary: Don’t Expect Any State Flexibility Under Obama 2.0

March 27, 2021March 26, 2021 RealClearWire

The “circle back” meme in the Biden White House isn’t limited to Jen Psaki’s avoidance of tough questions at press briefings. The Biden administration demonstrated that it also intends to circle back to the way things were under the Obama years when it comes to managing Medicaid. Rather than taking a cooperative approach to the state and federal partnership, Obama 2.0 is committed to running the program by decree and eliminating flexibilities that improve the program. Unfortunately, states hoping for true flexibility will be disappointed, as Medicaid flexibility has departed for Mar-a-Lago.

Trump Administration to Announce Medicare, Medicaid Will Cover Eventual COVID-19 Vaccine According to Report

October 28, 2020October 27, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Trump administration is expected to announce that the eventual coronavirus vaccine will be covered by Medicare and Medicaid, Politico reported late Monday.

The administration is expected to change a rule that previously prevented Medicare and Medicaid from covering vaccines that received emergency use authorization from the FDA. The official announcement is expected from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Politico.

Obamacare Loophole Allows Medicaid Fraud, Costs Taxpayers, Report Says

September 23, 2020September 22, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Affordable Care Act mandated that states accept a hospitals’ decision on the eligibility of all able-bodied adults who verbally report their income to be below the Medicaid level, which has led to many fraudulent eligibility claims, according to a report published Monday.

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) report examined recently released data from state Medicaid agencies. It specifically looked at the government Medicaid funds that were wasted through false hospitals’ presumptive eligibility (HPE) determinations.

Commentary: Lowering the Cost of Prescription Medicines for Seniors Is Not Impossible

September 1, 2020August 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Earlier this year James Payne, a 73-year-old retired attorney in Utah, was so fed up with the high cost of a blood thinner medication he takes, he researched prices in Canada, where he found it was cheaper.

“Under Medicare, I am now paying $225 for a three-month supply,” Payne explained. “That’s $25 more than I was paying last year. Under my employer’s insurance I was only paying $20.” Payne says he is not sure why the costs are so much higher and continue to climb under Medicare, but he thinks there must be ways to make life-saving medications more affordable.

U.S. Court of Appeals Panel Strikes Down Medicaid Work Requirement

February 17, 2020February 16, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

A panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court’s decision Friday blocking the Trump administration’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

FACT CHECK: Ohio GOP Chairwoman Timken Spreads Falsehoods on Refugees in Letter to Party Members

January 24, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken wrote an error-riddled apologetics letter sent by email on Thursday to party members defending Gov. Mike DeWine’s refugee resettlement policy. It is highly unusual for the chairman of a state’s Republican Party to defend the politically unpopular decision of the state’s governor. In…

Report: Medicaid Spending Skyrockets, Consumes 30 Percent of State Budgets

November 11, 2019November 10, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

In 2015, when Medicare and Medicaid turned 50, Investors Business Daily pointed out that one was going bankrupt (Medicare), the other was bankrupting states (Medicaid).

Federal Audit Finds Minnesota Paid $3.7 Million for Dead Medicaid Enrollees

October 3, 2019October 2, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services released Wednesday the findings of a multi-state audit, which identified $3.7 million in health care benefits paid to “deceased enrollees” in Minnesota.

Study: More than Half a Million Enrolled in Medicaid in Nine States Are Ineligible

September 14, 2019September 13, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

More than 500,000 people enrolled in Medicaid through expansion in nine states though their income made them ineligible for the program, a new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found.

California Lawmakers Move to Expand Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants

June 9, 2019June 9, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Kaylee Greene The California Assembly voted 44-11 in favor of a bill last week that broadens state Medicaid coverage to include illegal immigrants to the tune of more than $3 billion annually. Under federal law, Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, provides health care to low-income citizens. Assembly Bill…

Trump Administration Ends Unions ‘Skimming’ $100 Million a Year from Medicaid

May 6, 2019May 5, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Bethany Blankley A final rule change has been implemented by the Trump administration to ensure that Medicaid providers receive complete payments as required by law. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Medicaid Provider Reassignment Regulation…

Nine Years After Obamacare Passed, Agency Finds Numbers Were Wildly Off

February 26, 2019February 25, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jarrett Stepman Democrats defeated Republicans in the Obamacare repeal fight by warning that 22 million Americans would be thrown off their health insurance. They pointed to data leaked from the Congressional Budget Office. Well, it turns out that data was completely wrong. According to a report by the…

A Federal Appeals Court Just Took a Big Swing at Planned Parenthood

January 19, 2019January 18, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Kevin Daley The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction forbidding Texas from stripping Planned Parenthood of Medicaid funds Thursday, while stridently criticizing the abortion provider for its rhetoric and medical practices. “Planned Parenthood’s reprehensible conduct, captured in undercover videos, proves that it is not a…

Minnesota DHS Provided Medicaid Benefits to Out-of-State and Incarcerated Individuals, Report Finds

December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 Anthony Gockowski

A new report issued last week by the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the Department of Human Services (DHS) provided Medical Assistance (MA), or Medicaid, benefits to ineligible residents. While the report concluded that the DHS “generally complied” with eligibility requirements, there were numerous instances in which…

Kavanaugh Joins Liberals to Protect Pro-Planned Parenthood Ruling

December 11, 2018December 11, 2018 Admin

by Kevin Daley The Supreme Court declined to review three cases relating to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level Monday, over a vigorous dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas. The dissent was significant because it indicates that Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the high court’s liberal…

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Jeff Johnson Challenges Double Whammy Cost to State of Federal Refugee Program

September 17, 2018September 16, 2018 Chris Alto

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson has raised the trifecta of issues facing states where the federal government’s contractors are resettling refugees – cost, transparency and accountability. Johnson’s call to pause refugee resettlement in Minnesota demonstrates his understanding that costs being forced onto the state to pay for the federal program is…

Republican Dave Joyce Releases Bizarre Campaign Ad Distancing Himself from Trump

August 31, 2018September 4, 2018 Anthony Gockowski

In a risky political move, Rep. Dave Joyce recently tried to distance himself from President Trump in a congressional district that the president won by 12 percentage points in the 2016 Election. Joyce, who is seeking reelection in Ohio’s 14th Congressional District, recently released an ad in which he touts…

Incomplete Ohio Report Makes Unbiased Assessment of Medicaid Expansion Impossible, Think Tank Says

August 27, 2018August 26, 2018 Jason M. Reynolds

A lack of methodology data from a new report on the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio means it’s impossible to validate the results, one expert says. The Buckeye Institute’s Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and policy vice president, spoke out about the 2018 Medicaid…

Home Care Workers Support Trump Regulation Limiting Unions’ Dues Collecting

August 27, 2018August 26, 2018 Admin

By Richard McCarty For years, some blue states have been automatically deducting union dues from the checks of Medicaid caregivers. Many of these caregivers are relatives or friends of the person they care for and did not wish to join a union. The main beneficiary of this dues skim…

This New Health Plan Expansion Is a Godsend for Small Businesses Like Mine

July 24, 2018July 23, 2018 Admin

by Kalena Bruce Last month, the Trump administration took a concrete step to lower skyrocketing health care costs for middle-class families like mine. The Department of Labor issued a final rule expanding association health plans, which allow small businesses like my farm to band together with others to negotiate bulk rates…