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McClatchy
Facing an uncertain future as the Affordable Care Act teeters, health insurers have stepped up lobbying efforts to make sure their wish list of policy changes comes true. From Washington's K Street to Capitol Hill, demand is high for industry operatives who can educate lawmakers, administration officials and their staffers about the impact of changes to the sweeping healthcare law commonly known as Obamacare.
Medicaid Health Plans of America is doubling its efforts to influence legislation, said Jeff Myers, the group's president and CEO. It was clear to the group's board members and to him that "we're entering into some uncharted waters and we really need to dramatically increase our bandwidth," said Myers, whose member plans cover 73 percent of the nation's Medicaid enrollees. Myers' group wants to lower the cost of care for dual Medicaid-Medicare enrollees, improve access to substance abuse and mental health services, and lower the program's prescription drug costs — all amid the threat of terminating the ACA's Medicaid expansion.
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STAT
President Donald Trump's administration has made clear its intention to remake Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health care to lower-income families and individuals, seniors and those with disabilities. It won't be easy.
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The Washington Post
A new survey of school district leaders across the country finds that they are deeply worried that Republican proposals to refinance Medicaid, if they become law, would hurt students who live in poverty and those with disabilities and in special education.
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The Hill
A top House Republican on healthcare said Tuesday that lawmakers are looking to dramatically restructure Medicaid as part of an Obamacare repeal bill. Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, the vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, told reporters that Republicans are looking to include an idea known as "per capita caps" for Medicaid in the fast-track reconciliation bill used to repeal Obamacare.
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The Hill
Republican senators who hail from states that expanded Medicaid are meeting about the future of the program as their party moves ahead with the repeal of Obamacare. The senators had their first meeting on Wednesday in the office of Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who is from a state that expanded Medicaid and whose Republican governor, John Kasich, has been a vocal defender of it.
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Bloomberg
Republicans in Congress are hitting roadblocks as they try to devise a plan to replace Obamacare, stuck over issues like how to structure tax breaks they want to give people to buy insurance. The party stalemated on many of the same obstacles in 2014 during its most extensive effort to devise an alternative, according to lawmakers and aides involved with that effort.
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The New York Times
The Senate early Friday approved the nomination of Representative Tom Price to be secretary of health and human services, putting him in charge of President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. By a vote of 52 to 47, the Senate confirmed Price after a debate that focused as much on his ethics and investments as on his views on health policy. Democrats denounced his desire to rein in the growth of Medicare and Medicaid by making fundamental changes to the programs, which insure more than 100 million Americans.
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KCUR-FM
A yearlong campaign aimed at building support for Medicaid expansion culminated Wednesday in a show-of-force lobbying effort aimed at convincing Kansas lawmakers that they still have time to act. A crowd of approximately 200 filled the north wing of the Statehouse for a rally before the House Health and Human Services Committee convened a hearing on a bill that would expand eligibility for KanCare, the state's privatized Medicaid program, to more low-income Kansans.
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St. Louis Public Radio
Missouri legislators are considering a measure that would allow the state to fold into a proposal that has become a popular GOP refrain: Convert funding for state Medicaid programs into block grants. Senate Bill 28 would allow Missouri to ask the federal government for a block grant to pay for its Medicaid program, MO HealthNet, each year.
Under current law, the federal government picks up a portion of the cost of care for whatever the program's enrollees use. Proponents say a block grant, which would deliver the state a set amount of money each year, would rein in rising healthcare costs and give Missouri more control over how the program's dollars are spent. Critics say the change would restrict care to those who need it most because healthcare spending is outpacing inflation.
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Deseret News
Lawmakers on Monday gave initial approval to a resolution calling on the federal government to give states Medicaid funding in the form of block grants. Utah Sen. Dan Hemmert said SCR8 aims to give Utah greater control over how Medicaid dollars are distributed.
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Kaiser Health News
In a surprise move Monday, Marathon Pharmaceuticals told patient advocates that it would "pause" the launch of its drug Emflaza because of pricing concerns expressed by patients and advocacy groups. The drugmaker had announced an $89,000 annual price tag for its newly approved drug last week but patients and lawmakers immediately cried foul.
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