State Health Watch Archives – March 1, 2009
March 1, 2009
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Will budget cuts affect access for Medicaid recipients in your state?
A growing number of state Medicaid programs are in a precarious position right now: They're torn between cutting provider ratesfor many, a necessary step to balance their budgetsand trying to retain providers to maintain recipients' reasonable access to care. -
Fiscal Fitness: How States Cope: Maine eliminates 'cliff' of falling off Medicaid with Dirigo health care program
Maine's "Dirigo" health care reform is appropriately named, after the state's motto meaning "I Lead." "We built our reform on a Medicaid base and made modest expansions to Medicaid, covering parents to 200% FPL," says Trish Riley, director of the Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance in Augusta. -
New York Medicaid proposes reforms to improve access
New York's Medicaid program has identified increased access to primary and preventive care and other ambulatory care services as a priority, says Deborah Bachrach, Medicaid director and deputy commissioner of the Office of Health Insurance Programs for the New York State Department of Health. -
What is next for states moving toward near-universal coverage?
Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts are all front runners in the effort to achieve near-universal coverage. And many state Medicaid directors are planning to follow in their footsteps: As of November 2008, 14 additional states were moving toward comprehensive reform, according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. -
Public health, Medicaid QI initiatives find common ground
States are trying to do a better job of aligning their public health goals with quality improvement initiatives in Medicaid, with the goal of increasing efficiencies in state spending. -
Oregon, New Mexico seeing good results with public health
Oregon's Medicaid program has implemented a number of programs that further public health goals, according to Katherine J. Bradley, PhD, RN, administrator for the Oregon Department of Human Services' Office of Family Health in Portland. -
In Brief: Don't wait for CMS move, EDs are told
With the likelihood that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will adopt some or all of the 10 national voluntary consensus standards for hospital-based ED care recently endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF), experts advise ED managers to begin preparing now to be in compliance. Besides, they argue, the new measures will help them improve the efficiency and quality of their departments.