WICS Live: Around the States

Colorado: State Receives $1.5 Million Medicaid Infrastructure Grant: The grant, awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on December 18th, will be used to design the state’s Medicaid Buy-In program, to allow people with disabilities to retain Medicaid benefits while obtaining and maintaining gainful employment. The grant funding will provide for stakeholders input to assist with the in design the program, communications infrastructure, and outreach and training to assist efforts to increase competitive employment opportunities for people with disabilities, a needs assessment and environmental analysis, as well as research and evaluation. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

New Income Eligibility Information for Medicaid & State-Funded Coverage for Adults Available by State from Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Read it. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Enhanced FMAP Rates for Second Half of FY 2009 Published. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) increased states federal Medicaid matching rates by 6.2%, with additional increases depending on unemployment. The recession adjustment period included in ARRA began October 1 and will end December 31. Rates are available from the Federal Register. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Despite Budget Struggles, 26 States Expanded Medicaid/SCHIP with Help from Federal Stimulus Funds. See December 8th survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

States Continue to Face Fiscal Difficulties in the Face of Medicaid Enrollment and Spending Increases. A November 12th report from the National Governor’s Association and National Association of State Budget Officers finds that states continue to cut expenditures, and still face $14.5 billion in budget shortfalls in FY 2010 and at least $21.9 billion in funding gaps for FY 2011. Medicaid Is projected to grow at a rate of 6.6% in FY 2010. The reports are available at http://www.nga.org/ Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Wisconsin: State May Need to Cut $1 Billion From State Medicaid Programs. Over the next eighteen months, the state may be forces to make cuts to BadgerCare Plus, Family Care, SeniorCare, and other programs. For months, the state has been working to find approximately $608 million over the next two years. The state has identified 66 cost-saving measures so far, hoping to avoid service cuts or reductions in provider reimbursements. One of the largest savings will come from one-time accounting changes, delaying payments until the new state budget beings in July 2011. The shortfall is coming when more state residents are seeking to enroll in the programs because of the economy. About 700,000 residents were enrolled in BadgerCare Plus as of November 30th—nearly 70,000 more than in January 2009. The sharp increase in program enrollment will force the state to find an additional $450 million in savings or make program cuts. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Oklahoma: State Board Cuts $17M from Medicaid Program. On December 10th, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority board voted unanimously to make cuts in services that may affect 700,000 SoonerCare beneficiaries. The cuts, which will take effect January 1st, come after Governor Brad Henry (D) and the state Legislature ordered state agencies to reduce the remainder of the year's budget by 5%. At present, the Authority’s board did not vote to reduced provider reimbursement rates, but those reductions could be on the table if budget issues remain. Read more!

Wics: Around the States

Louisiana: State Facing $306 Million Medicaid Shortfall. To make up for a mid-year shortfall, the state plans to dip into one-time revenue sources and cut mental health, public health, and prescription drugs, the state Department of Health and Hospitals announced in mid-November. The Department attributed to the mid-year shortfall to treating the H1N1 epidemic , to community-based programs for individuals with disabilities, which are over-budget by $44 million, and the economic downturn, which has added 22,000 to the state Medicaid rolls since July 1st. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

California: State Seeks to Restructure Medi-Cal Waiver Through 1115 Waiver. The state announced last month that it intends to seek a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program. The waiver would replace the state’s current Section 1115 Waiver, which is set to expire August 31, 2010. In addition to slowing the growth of spending, the goals of the overhaul include creating a more accountable, streamlined system of care, reward quality, and expand coverage to uninsured residents. A core component of the plan is to reduce expenditures for “high-cost beneficiaries” and provide better coordinated care to these individuals and well as people with disabilities, children with special health care needs, and dually eligible individuals. A draft of the waiver proposal is available online at http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/provgovpart/Pages/WaiverRenewal.aspx Read more!

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Washington: State Agrees to Restore In-Home Supports to Children with Disabilities Enrolled in Medicaid. According to a settlement agreement, the state has agreed to restore services to 4,000 children with disabilities. The settlement comes after a lawsuit was filed to prevent the state from cutting services as of July 1st; the cuts were directed by the Legislature to manage a budget deficit for the 2009-2011 biennium budget. The state is still in discussions with representatives of adults with disabilities. As of October 19th, plaintiffs and representatives from the Department of Social and Health Services in hopes of submitting a consent decree for Federal court approval. Another case involving Medicaid cuts has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after a Federal District Court refused to grant a preliminary injunction for beneficiaries and family members providing in-home supports as employees of other agencies. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States Blog

North Carolina: Budget Cuts Mean Medicaid Program Will Lose $1.5 Billion. The state continues to squeeze savings out of Medicaid program, cutting provider rates, but state officials are warning that service cuts and job losses in health care could be looming. About 11,000 more people than estimated were enrolled in Medicaid during the months of August and September, increasing the pressure on the state budget. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

New York: State Will Reimburse Pharmacies that Provide H1N1, Seasonal Flu Vaccine to Medicaid Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries. It is the first time Medicaid-enrolled pharmacies will provide flu shots since a 2008 law took effect, permitting pharmacist to administer the shots. Medicaid recipients enrolled in managed care plans have access to immunizations through their providers. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Louisiana: State to Audit Medicaid Providers to Root out Fraud and Abuse. The state Department of Health and Hospitals announced October 29th that it will roll out a new effort to combat fraud in the state’s Medicaid program by auditing more than 700 private firms that provide in-home services for the elderly and people with disabilities. The audits come in the wake of years of growth in the state’s home and community-based services; in the last 7 years, costs grew by 174% and now cost the state $673 million annually. Read more!

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Florida: State Previews First Phase of Electronic Health Records. The state Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA)October 28th unveiled the MyFlorida Health eBook and eBaby Book, making the state the first in the nation to allow Medicaid recipients to access personal health records over the Internet. Within the next month, 2.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries will be able to access their health records and enter and track their health information by using their Medicaid ID number. Medicaid recipients also will be able to track family histories, print them, and share the information with health care providers, AHCA said. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

California: Statewide Study Finds Federal Citizenship Requirement Imposes Significant Burden on Counties.The study, conducted by the California Endowment and California Healthcare Foundation, found that the citizenship requirement made it difficult for most individuals, including children over age 16 and people born outside the state, to access Medicaid because they had difficulty finding birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and other acceptable documentation. Officials reported that no cases of existing Medicaid recipients had previously claimed false citizenship. At the same time, all 58 counties in the state reported increased workloads, backlogs, and costs to implement the citizenship verification requirement. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

California: State Prevented From Implementing November 1st Cuts to In-Home Support Services. A Federal judge October 19th issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from implementing planned cuts to an estimated 130,000 children and adults with disabilities and the elderly because of the substantial harm that would result. U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the plaintiffs in the class action suit were likely to show at trial that the service cuts, resulting for the recent state budget, violate Federal law. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

New Mexico: State Medicaid Budget in the Red, and Could Reach a $300 Million Deficit in 2011. With more state residents enrolling in Medicaid due to the economy, the state could face a $300 million budget gap in its Medicaid program by next fiscal year. As of September 17th, the state is currently facing a $40 million shortfall in the program that is expected to grow to $60 million in the coming months. The state Human Services Secretary told lawmakers in mid-September that her Department is considering cutting optional Medicaid services, cutting provider payment rates, and eliminating the State Coverage Insurance program, which provides health insurance premium assistance to low-income workers. With the state also facing a general budget shortfall this year and next, Governor Bill Richardson (D) has said he is waiting to see what happens with health reform at the national level before making any decisions for his state. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Montana: State Plans Swift Action to Implement Healthy Montana Kids Program. The program, which combines the state CHIP and Medicaid programs, began October 1st. The Department of Public Health and Human Services estimates that another 30,000 children could be added to the current 70,000 enrollees over the next two years. To help this along, the state September 24th announced a broad outreach effort in an effort to reach uninsured children and their families. The state has also cut the application in half, to 6 pages, and streamlined program administration. Under the new program, families earning up to $55,000 will qualify. Officials estimate there are 34,000 uninsured children in Montana, which ranks the state fifth in uninsured children. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Louisiana: State Facing Mid-Year Medicaid Budget Shortfall. The shortfall is the result of a higher-than-expected health-care spending and delays delays in implementing cost-cutting strategies, the state Health and Hospitals Secretary told lawmakers during a special budget hearing September 22nd. In addition to costs associated with the H1N1 virus, the state also is spending more than anticipated on home-care services for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, and legislature-approved rate reductions have taken longer to implement. The exact amount of the shortfall must be reported to a House-Senate budget committee by November 1st. The state is already preparing for increasing financial hardship as of July 1st, when the state will see their federal Medicaid match fall from 80% to 63%, adding another $700 million to the budget deficit. A blue-ribbon panel is expected to recommend $802 million in program cuts in its report, due early next year. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Florida: Pfizer Settlement Money Will Fund New Medicaid Fraud Informant Program. The state plans to use $1 million of its share of the multi-state settlement with the drug maker to reward informants who provide original information on Medicaid fraud violations that leads to recovery, civil or criminal penalties, or forfeiture of property. Reward money can be as much as 25% of the amount recovered, up to $500,000. The law authorizing the program also required all Medicaid beneficiaries to receive information annually on the program and how to report Medicaid fraud. Pfizer has agreed to pay a record $2.3 billion for illegally marketing Bextra, an anti-inflammatory drug, of which Florida is to receive $58 million, over $10 million which will go to the Medicaid program. Read more!