�Թϲ�����

Medicaid beneficiaries are 82% more likely to experience severe maternal morbidity and mortality than women with private health coverage, according to new research presented at the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission meeting Friday. People of color and women in rural areas are at the greatest risk for severe maternal morbidity and mortality among Medicaid recipients, said Katy Kozhimannil, associate professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and director of research for the Rural Health Research Center. Black and indigenous women are about three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause as white women. (Brady, 1/24)

The Trump administration on Thursday will announce a long-developing plan to overhaul Medicaid by letting states shift some program funding to block grants, four individuals with knowledge of the announcement confirmed. “The status quo is unacceptable,” said a senior administration official. “We have to give states some more flexibility.”The plan — developed for more than a year by CMS Administrator Seema Verma — is slated to be announced at a Jan. 30 event that HHS has called “Transforming Medicaid: A New Opportunity for Better Health.” POLITICO obtained a copy of the invitation sent to outside groups. (Diamond, 1/25)

The merger of insurers Centene and WellCare will create a company with a dominant position in Georgia’s managed care market for Medicaid. The $17 billion deal, which closed Thursday, will give the resulting entity roughly two-thirds of the Medicaid HMO business in the state. (Miller, 1/24)

Arizona’s Medicaid program is working with three insurers to create a long-term-care workforce to address the expected shortage of in-home caregivers needed as the state’s elderly population rapidly increases in coming years. The insurers the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, contracted with are Southwest Catholic Health Network Corp., Banner-University Family Care and United Healthcare Community Plan. These insurers are contracted to build a long-term-care workforce within its AHCCCS network by 2024. Also working on the initiative is the Department of Economic Security’s Division of Developmental Disabilities. (Duarte, 1/26)

The number of Idaho residents who have signed up for Medicaid under the state's voter-approved expanded coverage has passed 60,000. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare posted updated numbers Thursday. The agency estimates 91,000 residents meet requirements. (1/25)