CMS To Invite States To Apply For Waivers To Transform Medicaid Programs Into Block Grant Model

The Washington Post: Trump Administration To Offer States Medicaid Block Grant Option
Top Trump administration health officials are inviting states to convert part of Medicaid into a block grant — a longtime conservative goal Congress rejected more than two years ago. A letter to every state Medicaid director, to be dispatched Thursday, will offer the possibility of trading away an entitlement program that expands and contracts depending on how many poor people need the government health coverage. In exchange, for able-bodied adults in the program, states could apply to receive a fixed federal payment and freedom from many of the program’s rules, according to several individuals familiar with the plans. (Goldstein, 1/28)

Kansas Health Institute: Medicaid Expansion In Kansas: Estimated Enrollment And Costs (January 2020)
Multiple proposals to expand Medicaid for low-income Kansas adults age 19-64 have emerged for consideration in the 2020 legislative session. How could selected components in some proposals, such as premiums or alternate income limits, affect enrollment and costs? This issue brief delves into the details and updates previous Kansas Health Institute estimates of the effect of expansion on KanCare. (Bruffett and Steiner, 1/28)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Lawmakers Question Officials About Medicaid Performance, Funding Issues
Iowa lawmakers questioned Medicaid officials Tuesday about the finances and performance of the state’s health insurance system for low-income and disabled Iowans. Medicaid issues have been controversial at the Iowa Capitol since the state hired private insurance companies in 2016 to manage the government-funded system. (Sostaric, 1/28)

Mississippi Today: Children With Disabilities Losing Medicaid Coverage
Lawmakers were right: People ineligible for Medicaid in Mississippi have been receiving the health care benefit anyway. But they aren’t adults scamming the system. They’re children with disabilities, whose middle-class parents relied on the public health insurance loophole to afford expensive monthly medical treatments.Because of a recent crackdown on Medicaid eligibility, many families who had been receiving the Disabled Child Living at Home waiver have been denied the benefits when they’ve tried to renew them. (Wolfe, 1/27)