Texas lawmakers keep anti-abortion amendment in postpartum Medicaid extension proposal
A committee of House and Senate members agreed to a plan to extend Medicaid coverage for a year after childbirth โ with a controversial anti-abortion amendment attached. The bill now goes to both chambers for a final vote.
New work requirements for federal aid? GOP pushes proposals in debt talks
Work requirements for federal aid programs have emerged as a sticking point in ongoing negotiations over raising the nationโs debt ceiling, and President Joe Biden has signaled openness to a possible compromise even as many in his party have balked.
Texas House moves to expand Medicaid coverage to new moms for a year after childbirth
New moms would be able to maintain their health insurance for up to a year after childbirth under the proposal, which also passed the House last session. The Senate previously reduced it to just six months of coverage.
Pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Hereโs what that means for people using Medicaid health benefits.
Texas is reviewing the eligibility of people on Medicaid health plans or Healthy Texas Women now that pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Hereโs what that means, how to renew your health coverage or find other options if you no longer qualify.
State, feds say six-month maternal Medicaid coverage still under review
HHSC said it was initially told the plan was โnot approvable.โ Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a statement Friday saying Texasโ plan to extend coverage to six months was not rejected but still under review.
The Public Health Emergency will soon end. Hereโs what you need to know.
During the Public Health Emergency (PHE), millions of Americans have benefited from continuous and uninterrupted Medicaid or CHIP coverage. Soon the PHE will end, and Medicaid and CHIP recipients will need to take action to keep their Texas health care benefits.
Analysis: Texas gets a respite on Medicaid, but not a cure for the uninsured
Texas got a temporary reprieve on Medicaid funding from the federal government. But that wonโt solve underlying problems with high numbers of uninsured Texans and the plight of hospitals in the state โ especially those in rural areas.
Texas lawmakers split over how long to extend Medicaid health coverage for new mothers
Maternal health advocates said the bill โ originally pitched as a one-year extension โ could reduce the stateโs maternal mortality rate and offer vital help to mothers grappling with conditions like postpartum depression or health complications in the months after giving birth.
New Texas lawsuit accuses Biden administration of threatening stateโs health care funding to force Medicaid expansion
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtonโs lawsuit, filed Friday, argues that the Trump-era extension of the federal 1115 Medicaid funding waiver was lawful and that overturning it was a political move.
Medicaid expansion for uninsured Texans had bipartisan support, but lawmakers won't pass it this session
Texas House votes down budget amendment aimed at giving health coverage to more uninsured Texans
Medicaid expansion, federal coronavirus aid could spur legislative fights as Texas House debates $246 billion state budget
Republican state House speaker backs expanding Medicaid to cover mothers for a year after they give birth
COVID-19 law sparks dialogue on nursing home alternatives
Now, the COVID-19 relief bill is offering states a generous funding boost for home- and community-based care as an alternative to institutionalizing disabled people. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)WASHINGTON โ With the memory of the pandemic's toll in nursing homes still raw, the COVID-19 relief law is offering states a generous funding boost for home- and community-based care as an alternative to institutionalizing disabled people. As it has grown to cover about 1 in 5 Americans, it's also become the nation's default long-term care program, although qualifying is often an arduous process. While the federal government requires state Medicaid programs to cover nursing home care for low-income people, that's not the case for home- and community-based support services. For now, states and advocates for the disabled are awaiting guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on how the money in the COVID-19 law can be spent.
Medicaid incentive so far not enough to sway holdout states
Henry McMaster remains firmly opposed to the Medicaid expansion. The bump in federal funding would last two years for the states that join the Medicaid expansion. Laura Kelley this year called for legalizing medical use of marijuana and using the tax revenue to pay for expanding Medicaid. "Itโs a nonstarter, and we will continue to oppose the liberal wish list item of Medicaid expansion,โ he said. Kay Ivey left open the possibility of expanding Medicaid at some point in the future, but there are no plans to do so.
Justices call off arguments over Medicaid work requirements
WASHINGTON โ The Supreme Court said Thursday it has called off upcoming arguments over a Trump administration plan to remake Medicaid by requiring recipients to work, agreeing to a request from the Biden administration. But the Biden administration already has decided preliminarily that work requirements do not fit with Medicaid's goal of providing health care to lower-income people. AdOther cases involved Trump administration immigration policies and a fight over unreleased portions of grand jury documents from special counsel Robert Muellerโs investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The high court had in December agreed to review lower-court decisions involving Arkansas and New Hampshire that found that the Trump administrationโs support for work requirements went beyond whatโs allowed by law. Arkansas had opposed the Biden administrationโs request that the cases be dropped.
COVID-19 bill gives states pathway to reduce maternal deaths
Labor and delivery are thought of as the riskiest times for new mothers, but many women die in the months after giving birth. The legislation gives states the option of extending Medicaid coverage to women with low to modest incomes for a full year after childbirth. Maternal health advisory groups in 19 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, and Washington to Tennessee, have recommended such an extension. AdSome Republicans who disdain the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package say they would like to see the maternal health provisions made permanent. โWe must strive to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce maternal mortality,โ said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, who cosponsored legislation with Kelly, the Chicago Democrat, in the last Congress.
Judge rejects bid by Planned Parenthood to stay in Medicaid, affecting health service for thousands of low-income Texans
Planned Parenthood cannot stop Texas officials from kicking it out of the state's Medicaid program, a state district judge ruled Wednesday. The decision is the latest in Texas officialsโ years-long effort to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. A state district judge granted a temporary restraining order on Feb. 3, delaying the state from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid. The 2016 notice of termination never took effect, he said; Planned Parenthood has continued to treat Medicaid patients. Abbott, in a tweet deemed โfalseโ by Politifact, has said โinnocent lives will be savedโ by ending taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
Biden asks high court to drop 2 Trump-era Medicaid cases
WASHINGTON โ The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court not to hear arguments in two cases on its March calendar about the Trump administration's plan to remake Medicaid by requiring recipients to work. The Biden administration has been moving to roll back those Trump-era plans and cited โgreatly changed circumstancesโ in asking Monday that the cases be dropped from the court's argument calendar. The high court had in December agreed to review lower-court decisions involving Arkansas and New Hampshire that found that the Trump administrationโs support for work requirements went beyond whatโs allowed by law. Medicaid is a $600 billion federal-state program that covers about 70 million people, from pregnant women and newborns to disabled people and nursing home residents. Under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, states gained the option of expanding the program to many low-income adults previously ineligible.
Biden administration to undo Medicaid work requirements
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON โ The Biden administration is moving to roll back Medicaid work requirements in its latest effort to undo a controversial Trump-era policy. Federal health officials planned Friday to inform 10 states that they would revoke permissions granted by the Trump administration to impose such requirements, according to a Biden official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. Officials were also set to withdraw the past administrationโs invitation for states to apply for approval for work requirements. AdThe Trump administration allowed states to require โable-bodiedโ adults drawing Medicaid benefits to work, volunteer or study. Before the pandemic, nearly 20 states had tried to implement requirements after the administration invited them in 2018 to submit such proposals.
Texas Congressional Democrats urge Gov. Greg Abbott to let Planned Parenthood stay on Medicaid
Greg Abbott to reverse a yearslong effort to boot Planned Parenthood from the stateโs Medicaid program, saying it jeopardizes thousands of low-income Texansโ ability to access nonabortion health services. Their plea comes just days after a state district judge temporarily stopped the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, a government health insurance program for the poor. Planned Parenthood has donated fetal tissue for research, which is legal. State health officials granted a 30-day grace period that was slated to end Feb. 3. Escobar and the other congress members have asked Abbott to allow Planned Parenthood to remain as a provider.
Planned Parenthood files emergency lawsuit to try to stop Texas from kicking it off Medicaid
Planned Parenthood on Wednesday said it filed an emergency lawsuit to stop Texas from kicking it out of Medicaid, in a last ditch effort to keep providing non-abortion services to some 8,000 low-income patients. AdIn Texas, Medicaid primarily provides health insurance for children, and those who have a disability, are pregnant or are parents. Planned Parenthood on Wednesday said it filed an emergency lawsuit to stop Texas from kicking it out of Medicaid, in a last ditch effort to keep providing non-abortion services to some 8,000 low-income patients. AdIn Texas, Medicaid primarily provides health insurance for children, and those disabled, pregnant or who are parents. A lower court blocked the state from removing Planned Parenthood from Medicaid in 2017.
Will legislators prescribe Medicaid expansion for Texas this year?
Texas has millions of uninsured residents, many of whom might at least be covered under Medicaid in other states. Anne Dunkelberg, the associate director for the policy institute โEvery Texan,โ says that, in its current form, Texas Medicaid mainly covers children. Medicaid is also available for Texas parents, but only if they earn less than a few hundred dollars a month. With factors like those possible savings and the general strain on Texans caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dunkelberg thinks this could be the best shot Medicaid expansion has at passing since 2010. โIf youโre asking me to forecast the Texas legislature, I donโt think there is a wizard or sorcerer in history that could do that,โ Nirenberg said.