Clip files / Local news from the states
Clip files / Local news from the states
This column features selected short items about state health care policy.
Hawaii judge dismisses suit against state Medicaid plan
HONOLULUA federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit by a nonprofit health care agency organization against the state of Hawaii and its $1.5 billion Medicaid contract. AlohaCare was trying to block the state from moving forward with the contract it awarded to two mainland for-profit health plans. Judge Susan Oki Mollway said AlohaCare lacked standing to sue. Another group, Hawaii Coalition for Health, also is suing the contract. AlohaCare claimed the state illegally awarded contracts to the two mainland firms to provide care to Hawaii's medically fragile patients when the firms lacked networks of doctors and proper insurance licensing. AlohaCare said it will appeal.
Honolulu News, June 18, 2008
RI budget hinges on Medicaid plan
PROVIDENCEStruggling to close a massive budget deficit, Rhode Island lawmakers recently passed a spending proposal that is supposed to save millions of dollars by capping state Medicaid spending for the needy, elderly, blind, and disabled. The budget will not work unless the state saves $67 million in Medicaid expenses.
Medicaid federal funding pays for more than half of Rhode Island's annual $1.75 billion Medicaid budget, while the state contributes the rest. Gov. Don Carcieri's plan would be similar to one begun in 2005 in Vermont, the only other state to negotiate such an agreement.
Under the yet-to-be-finalized Rhode Island plan, the federal government would give the state a lump sum payment. The state then would use that money to pay for Medicaid for five years. In exchange, the state would have more flexibility to decide how its Medicaid funds can be spent.
Under current rules, the state cannot use Medicaid money to provide elderly patients with nursing assistance or meals outside a nursing home. Carcieri's office says caring for people at home is less expensive than paying for a nursing home, and loosening the Medicaid rules would save the state money.
But there's a catch: Once the federal Medicaid funds runs out, it's gone. The state either would have to pay for any overruns or cut services exactly what the plan seeks to avoid.
Associated Press, June 21, 2008
This column features selected short items about state health care policy.Subscribe Now for Access
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