Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States Have Had Mixed Results In Addressing Social Determinants Of Health To Manage Costs, GAO Report Finds
States have mixed results when coordinating patient care and addressing the social determinants of health to manage healthcare costs for high-cost Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a new Government Accountability Office report released Thursday. The GAO found that all the states surveyed offered care management assistance to providers to better manage physical and mental health conditions for fee-for-service beneficiaries. (Brady, 9/13)
Counties could end up paying for a significant part of Idaho鈥檚 voter-approved Medicaid expansion after it鈥檚 rolled out next year. A legislative committee is almost done drafting its recommendation to lawmakers on how to pay for the state鈥檚 estimated $41 million share of the expansion in fiscal year 2021. Republicans want almost a quarter of that bill to be covered by counties, noting that they shouldn't have to pay as much for indigent healthcare. But Democrats, like Sen. Marianne Jordan (D-Boise), say voters who helped pass Medicaid expansion, wanted the state to pay for those costs. (Dawson, 9/16)
Claire Aschoff took her first steps at age 3. That was in late December, the result of months of intensive physical and occupational therapy paid for through a special Medicaid waiver program covering disabled children and adults. A few weeks later, the Blair child could manage barely seven independent steps, her mother, Bridget, told a panel of state lawmakers Friday. (Stoddard, 9/14)
