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As pandemic tears through Louisiana’s economy, Medicaid enrollment surges by 208,000 | Legislature | theadvocate.com

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COVID has driven a dramatic surge in Louisiana Medicaid enrollment, but the current DHS Director says 160,000 members are ineligible.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_0dbc69f6-417f-11eb-b1ad-779ea34243b4.html

 
 

 
 

Culture Aid Nola distributes 10,000 pounds of food to New Orleans residents at Our Lady Star of the Sea church, 1835 St Roch Ave. Monday, May 4, 2020. CAN is no-barrier aid, meaning no paperwork or ID is required to access resources. Culture Aid Nola has distributed just under 40,000 meals since forming at the end of March in response to the COVID-19 crisis. CAN works with local businesses, city council members and non-profits to provide direct food relief , medicaid access navigation, reliable verified health information, aid navigation and other services. CAN also anticipates opening its 4th weekly food pantry soon, which will enable us to serve over 6,500 meals per week. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

 

In February, weeks before Louisiana would discover its first case of COVID-19, the Louisiana Department of Health sent out letters to 24,000 Medicaid recipients, warning they would be kicked off the rolls if they didn’t respond and prove they qualify for the program.

The letters were part of a stricter eligibility system installed a year earlier, which checked the wages of all enrollees every few months, and required them to prove they didn’t make too much money to qualify. As a result, enrollment fell and remained consistently lower than before.

The pandemic prompted a complete turnaround.

After seeing enrollment in the government health insurance program drop by about 3% from 2018 to 2019, the pandemic and coronavirus response legislation passed by Congress caused a spike in Louisiana’s Medicaid population. The number of people covered by the program surged by more than 208,000 from November 2019 to November 2020. That’s a jump of about 13%.

In all, nearly 1.8 million people in Louisiana – about 39% of the state’s 4.6 million residents – were receiving Medicaid as of last month. 

The increase in Medicaid expansion, a part of the Affordable Care Act that Gov. John Bel Edwards put in place shortly after taking office in 2016, was even more dramatic. The number of people receiving insurance from expansion jumped by 116,128, a 25% increase. Expansion covers adults who make up to 138% of the federal poverty line. That’s up to $1,468 monthly for an individual or $3,013 a month for a family of four.

 
 

Medicaid rolls soar in Louisiana: Federal rules prevented the state from kicking people off the rolls, leading to a 13% surge during the pandemic. 

The spike in claims further reveals the scope of the pandemic’s toll on people across the state, many of whom turned to the government health insurance after being laid off.

“We know very well when the economy goes south the demand for public services increases,” said Jan Moller, head of the Louisiana Budget Project. “It’s perfectly understandable and rational that more people would qualify for coverage.”

“This is exactly what the safety net is designed to do, is to pick people up and give them something as basic as health care access at a very uncertain time.”

An historic number of Louisiana residents lost their jobs this year, as the pandemic and government restrictions hammered employers. Moller noted thousands of people dropped out of the labor force entirely, many because they had to take care of children at home with schools closed or shifted online. It’s also possible healthy people who previously qualified for Medicaid because of their low incomes signed up because the pandemic highlighted the importance of having health coverage.

 

Congress in the spring passed legislation that gave Louisiana and other states more money to pay for their share of Medicaid. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act increased the federal match rate by 6.2% for Medicaid, not including the expansion group. That generated about $283 million in savings to the state general fund in the fiscal year that ended this summer, according to state Sen. Sharon Hewitt’s office. Hewitt, a Slidell Republican, chairs the Medicaid Forecasting Panel.

In the current fiscal year, the savings totaled $440 million. The state Legislature used much of the money to pay for other spending priorities, like the state’s bankrupt unemployment trust fund.

In exchange for the windfall, Congress told states they can’t kick people off Medicaid during the pandemic, unless recipients move, die, or request a voluntary termination of their coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 
 

That meant the state suspended the stricter wage verification program, which critics said kicked many people off the program simply because they didn’t fill out paperwork more frequently. Republicans who have hammered the Health Department for what they say is fraud in the state’s program have said the stricter checks are a safeguard against people gaming the system.

Tara LeBlanc, interim executive director of Medicaid at the Louisiana Department of Health, said approximately 160,000 people being covered by Medicaid are ineligible. The agency is working with the feds on how to “end coverage” for people once the federal public health emergency ends.

“Individuals who are ineligible are expected to undergo a post eligibility review,” LeBlanc said in a statement. “It will take approximately six months to conduct the post eligibility review and catch up on suspended renewals.”

Hewitt, the chair of the Senate Republican delegation, said Medicaid was designed as a safety net for people who need health coverage during tough financial times.

“I can’t think of a more challenging financial climate or a bigger need for health care resources for our families than the current COVID pandemic,” she said. “Once this public health emergency is over and we get our people back to work, I look forward to working with the Department of Health to identify those individuals who may have needed Medicaid in 2020, but now have employer-sponsored insurance or are able to purchase health insurance on their own.”

 

Between mid-March and late October of this year, 71,848 people approved for Medicaid were in a household of someone making unemployment claims because of the pandemic, according to Hewitt’s office.

Enrollment trends for another piece of the Affordable Care Act, the individual exchange where people who don’t qualify for Medicaid or receive coverage from an employer can buy health insurance, is less clear.

Becky Mowbray, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Insurance, said in an email new enrollments are down and renewals are significantly up so far, which is consistent with COVID-19-related job losses triggering special enrollment periods for people and increasing enrollment. But full data that captures the bulk of the individual exchange population, those who renew automatically, isn’t available yet.

 

Data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows enrollment through five weeks was roughly on par with the same time period last year in Louisiana. In 2020, the number of people signing up for insurance through the individual exchange fell to its lowest point on record for a second straight year, as Republicans sued to toss the Affordable Care Act.

Moller said he’s “extremely concerned” about what happens when the public health emergency ends and potentially hundreds of thousands of people receiving Medicaid in Louisiana will likely be disenrolled from the program.

“We want to make sure it’s done in the most orderly careful fashion possible and they don’t just dump tens or hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries off the rolls” because of paperwork issues, he said.

 
 

 
 

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A year in, Idaho is paying more for new Medicaid enrollees with expensive conditions… | Eye on Boise | idahopress.com

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Idaho Medicaid expansion will cost the state 50% more than projected this year and 100% more than next year, compared to the cost estimates used to decide on expanding.

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

Clipped from: https://www.idahopress.com/eyeonboise/a-year-in-idaho-is-paying-more-for-new-medicaid-enrollees-with-expensive-conditions/article_c52fafa6-0618-54df-8366-308de850dff6.html

The struggle of delayed care leading to costlier and worse conditions rings true for many of roughly 94,000 Idahoans, many of them working poor, who are now covered by Medicaid expansion, write Post Register reporters Nathan Brown and Kyle Pfannenstiel. The cost of Medicaid expansion, which is paid 90% by the federal government and 10% by the state, is coming in higher than expected.

This will create a headache for lawmakers who must decide next year how to pay for a program that will cost the state tens of millions more than they originally thought, and has provided some vindication to conservatives such as Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who warned before expansion that it would cost more than projected, pointing to the experience of other states.

Ehardt said lawmakers need to control costs moving forward and earmark a revenue stream for Medicaid expansion so they don’t have to scramble for funding every year.

“I definitely feel that it needs to be a dedicated source,” she said.

Higher per-patient spending appears to be driving costs. There were 94,000 people enrolled in expanded Medicaid in November, just a few percent higher than the 91,000 the actuarial firm Milliman Inc. projected in 2018. But many of those people were uninsured for a long time and are now finally accessing care for conditions that have worsened due to lack of affordable preventive care.

“I think there has always been a kind of acknowledgment that the Medicaid expansion population might have pent-up demand,” said Alex Adams, head of the state’s Division of Financial Management.

A state-commissioned 2018 report on the costs and savings of Medicaid expansion projected it would cost the state $41.9 million this year and $44.6 million next year. The new estimates are $67 million this year and the agency’s budget request for next year is $84 million, Adams said, numbers that would also increase the federal share by hundreds of millions from the report’s projections of $370.1 million and $394.9 million, respectively. Gov. Brad Little will unveil his Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal next month when the legislative session starts on Jan. 11.

“It would be premature to say what the governor’s recommendation might be, but we’re certainly looking at all options,” Adams said.

One thing that could help is that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government is paying 76% of the cost of traditional Medicaid rather than 70% as it had been before. Adams said this savings to the state could be used to cover some of the additional costs of expansion, although he said this isn’t a long-term solution.

Another is that Idaho, unlike many states, is collecting more revenue than expected and has a good deal of savings despite the coronavirus pandemic.

You can read Brown and Pfannenstiel’s full story here at postregister.com (it originally ran in the Post Register on Dec. 10), or pick up today’s Sunday/Monday edition of the Idaho Press; it’s on the front page.

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Nursing Home Providers Sue for Access to $153M in COVID-19 Medicaid Rate Boosts – Skilled Nursing News

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PA nursing homes argue that the provider taxes they pay (“assessments”) allowed the state to draw down $153M extra federal funds as part of COVID relief- but the nursing homes did not get any of the extra funds.

 
 

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://skillednursingnews.com/2020/12/nursing-home-providers-sue-for-access-to-153m-in-covid-19-medicaid-rate-boosts/

Three senior living and care organizations in Pennsylvania filed suit against the state over $153 million in additional Medicaid funds allocated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, charging the Keystone State with treating the money “as its own piggybank and disregarding the substantial need of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens.”

The petition, filed on December 7 in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, argues that the state is failing to comply with a statutory obligation to distribute Medicaid funds received from the federal government to nursing facilities.

According to the provider associations — the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA), LeadingAge PA, and the Pennsylvania Coalition of Affiliated Healthcare & Living Communities (PACAH) — the assessments paid by their nursing facility members contributed to an increase in the Medicaid funds that Pennsylvania received.

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Medicaid is funded by both states and the federal government, with the federal government’s matching share varying by state depending on per capita income. In Pennsylvania, the state makes use of provider assessments, or taxes, that bolster the state share of Medicaid and in turn increase the amount of federal Medicaid dollars that the state can draw down.

In March, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act increased the federal government’s share of Medicaid expenses, or the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), by 6.2 percentage points.

The Pennsylvania providers argue that under Pennsylvania’s Assessment Law, the state Department of Human Services is required to establish “a restricted account in the General Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys from the assessment [and] any Federal financial participation received by the Commonwealth as a direct result of the assessment.”

The funds that go into this restricted account should be put in some way toward assistance for nursing facility providers, the lawsuit argues. And because of the FMAP increase passed in March, the provider assessments contributed to more federal dollars being drawn down for Medicaid, the groups claimed in the petition.

Specifically, the increased FMAP from provider assessments will lead to “an additional $153 million in funds for Medicaid payments to nursing facilities for 2020 alone,” according to the petition.

The suit argues that the Assessment Law requires the Department of Human Services to distribute all funds from the federal government “as a result of the assessments to the nursing facilities,” but it has not agreed to use the Enhanced FMAP funds for supplemental payments to nursing facilities.

“Instead of using the Enhanced FMAP funds to provide additional payments to the notoriously underfunded nursing facilities caring for Medicaid recipients, the Department is playing a shell game — it is using the Enhanced FMAP funds in lieu of other payments that were already appropriated to the nursing facilities and using those funds to fill budget holes for other programs,” the petition reads.

PHCA president and CEO Zach Shamberg described the lawsuit as “our last resort,” telling Skilled Nursing News on Tuesday that providers have been negotiating with the Department of Human Services since spring on the destination of the enhanced FMAP funds.

“We’re on month eight of those negotiations, and still no dollars have been sent to long-term care providers,” he said. “So this was really our last resort, our last recourse, getting these dollars to where they needed to go.”

The Department of Human Services did not agree.

“This lawsuit seeks only more money for nursing facilities throughout the commonwealth that have already received more than $800 million in taxpayer stimulus,” it said in a statement sent to SNN. “The assertions made in the materials the associations distributed to the media are simply false. The money at issue is being used to support residents of our nursing facilities.”

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Opinion: Medicaid expansion states less prepared for COVID-19

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

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Medicaid expansion contributed to increased shortfalls in hospital revenues (because of lower reimbursement)- and led to a bed-shortage in expansion dates during the COVID pandemic.

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2020/12/08/opinion-medicaid-expansion-states-less-prepared-covid-19/6494763002/

As I scrolled through Twitter Monday morning, a news headline caught my attention: “Southern Colorado Hospitals Reach ICU Bed Capacity As COVID Hospitalizations Continue To Rise.”

Indeed, from New York to New Mexico, the ability of hospitals to house additional COVID-19 patients across the country is a major concern.

Unfortunately, this is less a feature of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more a symptom of how hospital bed capacity has diminished quietly over the past two decades.

 
 

According to data from the American Hospital Association, the number of hospital beds per thousand persons fell by more than 16% between 2000 and 2017. Some states have seen double-digit declines in bed space over the past five years alone. This problem was brewing long before the virus hit U.S. soil.

However, some states have weathered the crisis better than others. States entering into this pandemic with greater hospital bed capacity have had an advantage.

Contrary to popular myth, states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare have been faced with greater constraints on hospital and ICU beds, while non-expansion states have been better equipped to confront the pandemic with more capacity and better resources.

How did we get to this point? Medicaid expansion provided welfare to able-bodied adults in states that chose to adopt it, but because Medicaid reimburses medical providers at far lower rates compared to private insurers — and in many cases below the actual cost of care — hospitals in these states have seen their resources dwindle as they take on more patients at lower rates.

It’s no surprise that since Medicaid expansion was adopted, hospitals’ collective Medicaid shortfalls have skyrocketed by $5 billion, or more than 50%. 

These unfortunate financial realities have forced many expansion states’ hospitals to close their doors completely. Others were unable to invest in additional capacity, contributing to the decline in bed space.

The proof is in the data. According to a study I co-authored, since 2013, the number of hospital beds per capita has declined by more than 6% in Medicaid Expansion states — while the number of beds has increased in non-expansion states. 

Today, non-expansion states have 510 more beds per capita than their expansion counterparts. And it’s not just beds — states that have resisted Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion have 35% more hospitals per capita compared to expansion states.

We’re seeing this unfortunate reality play out in real time. According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the only states with more than 90% of their staffed adult ICU beds occupied — New Mexico, Rhode Island and North Dakota — have one thing in common: They all expanded Medicaid under Obamacare.

These otherwise unrelated states — with unique regions, demographics, economies, populations and health characteristics — are bonded together by the same decision to expand Medicaid, which has manifested itself in reduced bed capacity for COVID-19 patients.

The Medicaid expansion state of Colorado — the focus of the news headline — went into this national health crisis with less than half of the bed capacity of bordering Wyoming, a non-expansion state. According to the HHS data, Colorado presently has nearly 70% of its staffed ICU beds occupied, while Wyoming has roughly half of its beds occupied — the second lowest level in the nation. Had Colorado chosen to follow Wyoming’s lead and resist the adoption of Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, the situation would have been far different. 

As policymakers gear up for the start of legislative sessions, there’s an important lesson in this analysis: Don’t fall for the myth that Medicaid expansion is a cure-all, especially for hospitals.

Rejecting Obamacare’s expansion is a commonsense step states can take to avoid the harsh reality they could otherwise be forced to reckon with.

Hayden Dublois is a research analyst at the Foundation for Government Accountability. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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Supreme Court to consider Medicaid work requirements | Healthcare Finance News

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

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SCOTUS will hear a case to determine whether work requirements can be used in the Medicaid program.

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/supreme-court-consider-medicaid-work-requirements

 

 
 

Late last week, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether outgoing President Donald Trump and his administration can allow states to tack work requirements onto their Medicaid programs, a proposal that has been shot down in the lower courts.

At issue is the administration’s approval of Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and New Hampshire. In a brief order, the Justices granted review in Azar v. Gresham and Arkansas v. Gresham, and consolidated the cases for an hour of oral argument. The Justices are being asked to decide whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia erred in concluding that the secretary of Health and Human Services may not authorize demonstration projects to test the work requirements to facilitate the transition of Medicaid beneficiaries to commercial coverage.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT?

Work requirements have been controversial in some states. In February, for example, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump Administration unlawfully allowed Arkansas to implement a work requirement on those covered under that state’s Medicaid expansion program, echoing a lower court ruling from 2019.

Arkansas was the first state to create such a work requirement, tasking enrollees aged 19-49 with clocking 80 hours per month on work, volunteering or job hunting, which then had to be reported via Internet or phone. According to Arkansas Online, 18,164 people lost coverage during the nine months the requirement was in effect, and were barred from re-enrolling for the remainder of the year.

The unanimous decision in the Arkansas case, written by Reagan appointee Judge David Sentelle, upheld a district court ruling that found the administration had not analyzed whether work requirements would promote the primary objective of Medicaid, which is to “furnish medical assistance.”

In issuing approvals of state work-requirement waivers, the administration had argued that the move would help some beneficiaries transition to private policies and could lead to better health outcomes, and help states conserve financial resources, CNN reported. The administration began granting state work requirement requests in 2018.

According to a blog on the Supreme Court’s website, the cases will likely not be argued until late winter or early spring. On Friday, law professor Stephen Vladeck said on Twitter that President-elect Joe Biden could rescind the government’s approval of work requirements when he takes office, although this would likely take time, opening up the possibility that the state would pursue an administrative hearing to challenge any rescission. 

In Arkansas, more than 18,000 people lost coverage in 2018 before the courts stepped in.

THE LARGER TREND

In October, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ announcement of work requirements in Nebraska drew push-back from Nebraska Appleseed, a nonprofit focused on, in part, promoting access to affordable healthcare. It called the Heritage Health Adult waiver “unnecessary” and “a step in the wrong direction.”

“By the Department of Health and Human Services’ own estimates, the waiver will result in tens of thousands of people being locked out of dental, vision, and over the counter drug benefits,” the group wrote on its website. “The waiver does not ‘enhance’ benefits; it is indeed designed to deprive enrollees of those benefits.

“Nebraska does not need a complicated waiver system that makes it harder for people to access the care that they need.”

Similar requirements were recently introduced in Georgia. Specifically, CMS announced the approval of Georgia’s new Medicaid section 1115 demonstration called “Pathways to Coverage.” It requires working-age Georgia adults who are ineligible for Medicaid to opt into Medicaid coverage by participating in qualifying activities such as work and education, as well as meeting premium and income requirements.

This applies to those between the ages of 19 and 64, with income up to and including 100% of the federal poverty level, and is effective through September 30, 2025, with implementation beginning July 1, 2021.
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com

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Republican lawmakers ask Gov. Kevin Stitt to reconsider privatizing Medicaid – OK

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

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Providers are making one final effort to oppose Medicaid managed care in Oklahoma.

 

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/republican-lawmakers-ask-gov-kevin-stitt-to-reconsider-privatizing-medicaid/article_7c25c0d4-3bff-11eb-9457-0ff4ffc89425.html

 

More than two dozen Republican lawmakers signed a letter asking Gov. Kevin Stitt to back off his plans to privatize the administration of the state’s Medicaid program, one of them said Friday.

Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, said health care providers in his southeastern Oklahoma district are adamantly opposed to converting the current state-managed program to a private system.

“You don’t walk out of a room with them confused about where they stand,” Humphrey said.

He said health care professionals have told him a switch to what’s known as capitated or managed care will mean “quality goes down, prices go up and local options will become fewer.”

The letter was signed by 24 House members and two state senators. Most represent rural areas.

Since gaining almost complete control of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers the state’s Medicaid program, Stitt has pressed for a conversion to managed care. His plans have met fairly broad opposition in the Legislature, but lawmakers have limited ability to halt the changeover.

Stitt has said he plans to have contracts in place by late this winter and a new system fully operational by next fall, something people with experience in the field say will be a difficult task.

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Governor’s health care group has tough time getting past Medicaid barrier (NC)

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NC Governor continues to push for expansion, but it may be falling on deaf ears during economic challenges of pandemic as he expects hospitals to help cover increased costs.

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.matthewsminthillweekly.com/news/2020/12/governors-health-care-group-has-tough-time-getting-past-medicaid-barrier/

By Julie Havlak
Carolina Journal News Service

Gov. Roy Cooper is still selling Medicaid expansion, but Republican lawmakers aren’t buying. 

The first meeting of the bipartisan N.C. Council for Health Care Coverage, held Dec. 4, fractured into a partisan divide over expanding Medicaid. Cooper spent hours pushing for Medicaid expansion, but Republican lawmakers declared themselves disappointed in his focus. 

Cooper formed the N.C. Council for Health Care Coverage to find solutions for the 17% of adults who are uninsured in North Carolina. The council includes 48 members, including lawmakers, physicians, pastors and businessmen.

Little appears to have changed since Medicaid expansion sank last year’s budget, and it seems likely the issue will haunt the new session in January 2021. 

“To be honest, I was a little disappointed to see that we’re starting with Medicaid expansion, because it has been such a controversial topic,” said Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth. “So I am glad that we’re moving on to other things. We know that in order to increase access, we need to find ways to reduce costs.” 

Cooper wants to expand Medicaid to cover 626,000 people who make less than 138% of the federal poverty level. The federal government picks up 90% of the cost of what Cooper says would be a $4.3 billion price tag in 2021. 

Cooper proposed putting the remaining 10% on hospitals and providers. Whether they are still willing to accept that burden is unclear. Members noted that other states that used a provider tax to pay for expansion also then raised providers’ reimbursement rates. 

“Health-care providers have taken a pretty big hit from COVID,” said Gene Woods, president of Atrium Health. “That’s going to be important to make sure we’re not disrupting access in a different way by mismatching those resources.”

Cooper hasn’t softened his focus on expansion. For two hours, every presentation touted the purported benefits of Medicaid expansion, including covering the working poor, saving rural hospitals and combating the opioid epidemic. 

But Republicans remained unmoved. They changed the conversation once the meeting opened for questions. They argued for ways of reducing the cost of health care, rather than solely focusing on increasing the coverage of those costs. 

Krawiec suggested expanding access to telemedicine and reforming scope of practice and licensure laws to allow providers to practice up to their full abilities. She wants to reform the Certificate of Need laws that choke competition within the state by restricting the supply of medical equipment. 

And she focused on moving ahead with Association Health Plans, which would offer businesses the chance to bargain for health insurance as a larger group. The law allowing the plans is currently tied up in court. 

“It’s just prohibiting a lot of people from getting the coverage they can get,” Krawiec said. “The business community was overwhelming behind it. It’s a great idea to provide coverage for people, especially in low-wage industries.”

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Missouri House budget leader hopes for cost-saving Medicaid reforms, expects tough budget year

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

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MO lawmakers are signaling that next year’s budget will be where the full impact of the COVID pandemic is seen in terms of decreased revenues and impact on the economy; Medicaid costs savings measures will be required.

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2020/dec/10/missouri-house-budget-leader-hopes-for-cost-saving-medicaid-reforms-expects-tough-budget-year/852078/

 
 

Rep. Cody Smith, committee chair, addresses the state’s joint budget committee Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Photo by Tim Bommel/Mo. House of Reps.

The Missouri House Budget Committee chairman hinted Wednesday during a meeting of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education there may be a lengthy debate in the coming legislative session over cost-saving reforms to the state’s Medicaid program, which would happen as legislators figure out how to expand the program, per voters’ desire.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, also said next year will be a challenging one from a budget perspective because that’s when the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will appear in tax receipts.

Smith and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee, were included in the higher education board’s virtual meeting Wednesday because the topic of next year’s budget was on the agenda for discussion. It’s the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development’s priority to restore institutions’ core funding and support financial aid programs.

Gov. Mike Parson in the spring and early summer withheld a combined total of more than $95 million from four-year colleges and universities’ budgets, and more than $18 million from community colleges, because of the pandemic and its effects on the state’s budget. That was for the 2020 fiscal year.

When the new and current 2021 fiscal year started in July, Parson withheld nearly $28 million for Missouri’s colleges and universities, and more than $18 million less for community colleges — though about half of what was withheld from community colleges and four-year institutions was restored in October.

Revenue collections for the state are doing well — more than $100 million, or 14.5 percent, more last month than November 2019, the Office of Administration reported Wednesday.

Smith said, however, that the 2021 fiscal year is complicated by 2019 calendar year tax revenue that normally would have come in during the spring and the previous fiscal year instead coming in during July, on account of the tax filing deadline being pushed back because of the pandemic.

He said the budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which lawmakers will have to craft in the spring, will be the first in which tax receipts were affected by the pandemic, tax receipts from the 2020 calendar year — reflecting businesses closing, unemployment and decreased tax liabilities.

“We are looking to the next year to be one that will be challenging” from a state budget perspective, Smith said.

Complicating that is that voters in August approved expanding the state’s Medicaid program, MO HealthNet, and the program is estimated to grow by about 230,000 people.

Perspectives on the pros and cons of Medicaid expansion vary, but Smith, Hegeman and other Republican lawmakers and leaders stated ahead of the August election they were decidedly against expansion, arguing it would come at the cost of public education, among other claims.

Medicaid expansion is an option given to states under the federal Affordable Care Act, and the federal government pays 90 percent of the costs for people who qualify.

A fiscal note received by the state House Budget Committee over the summer said there is a possible range in cost to expand from an annual expenditure of $200 million to a savings of $1 billion.

“There’s no easy way” to expand Medicaid, Smith said Wednesday, adding, “It will have a cost and an impact on the larger budget.”

To that end, he said, “We will need to have some reforms to our Medicaid program that will generate cost savings,” and that would probably be a work in progress until the last days of the session.

Hegeman said a consensus revenue estimate for the 2022 fiscal year would be released soon, and Smith said it would be what he considers a conservative estimate.

“The saving grace has been federal dollars,” including the use of federal money to supplant general revenue in the state’s budget and offer more flexibility, Hegeman said.

Smith said it’s possible the state will be given an extension on the use of its federal aid money — which currently has an end-of-the-year deadline for spending — and a new federal stimulus package would come through.

In the meantime, as for what higher education institutions could do to advocate lawmakers for more funding, Smith advised: “That is drawing as straight a line as possible from higher education to the workforce needs of our state,” and showing why funding higher education is important to those efforts.

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Feedback on Next Medicaid Managed Care RFP Due December 29 | Department of Health | State of Louisiana

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

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LA is taking input for its Spring 2021 Medicaid managed care RFP.

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://ldh.la.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/5912

LDH plans to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) in Spring 2021 to solicit proposals to provide Medicaid managed care services to its more than 1.6 million beneficiaries. To offer your input, visit ldh.la.gov/MCORFP21 and complete the online form, or email your feedback to healthy@la.gov and include “MCO RFP 21” in the subject line. The deadline for all feedback is Tuesday, December 29, 2020.