Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
N.J. Counties Due $37 Million From State Because Of Medicaid Overpayments, Congressman Says
New Jersey owes its counties $37 million because they paid too much in Medicaid expenses as the nation recovered from the Great Recession, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. said Tuesday. President Barack Obama's stimulus package, which the Congressional Budget Office said created or saved millions of jobs, provided extra federal funding for Medicaid as the economic downturn forced more Americans into the health care program. For New Jersey, that meant an additional $2.7 billion. The counties' contributions to the state for Medicaid, however, were too high under the stimulus law. (Salant, 5/31)
In a ruling with potentially huge adverse financial implications for state Medicaid programs across the country, a federal judge in Seattle held late last week that Washington state鈥檚 Medicaid system must end a year-old policy allowing only patients with the most severe cases of hepatitis C infections access to new but very expensive treatments. As many as three fifths of state Medicaid programs in the past year have imposed tough restrictions on millions of low-income patients and veterans seeking reimbursement for treatment of the often-deadly disease. (Pianin, 5/31)
State health officials begin today the boldest legislative attempt at Medicaid reform with their submission of a waiver request with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The submission commences what could be a three- to five-year process that would place Medicaid oversight in the hands of three statewide managed care organizations, likely pre-paid health plans from insurers, and up to 12 provider-led entities, likely to involve not-for-profit health care systems. (Craver, 5/31)
All nine ambulance drivers in a random check of a Columbus medical transportation company were not qualified for the job, including five who didn't even have driver's licenses, a state audit shows. At another company, 22 of the 32 personal-care aides tested lacked even basic First Aid certification. Those factors and others led state Auditor Dave Yost to seek more than $1.5 million from the two companies, mostly for putting unqualified employees in health-care positions. (Rowland, 5/31)
