The uninsured rate is likely to climb over the next decade according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO said that it expects the rise in uninsured Americans was elevated to a higher rate when 23 million people lost benefits during the Medicaid redetermination period last year. More could lose insurance...CMS Rules
This week, federal regulators issued an interim final rule that would take action against states that have not complied with the federal Medicaid eligibility rules or reporting requirements during the redetermination period.
The rule says that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will require noncompliant states to...Top of The Day
A new report by Syntellis and the American Hospital Association (AHA) could drive the fight between hospitals and Medicare Advantage providers to reach a head, as the analysis shows MA plans' claims denials are directly contributing to declines in cash reserves.
Claims denials increased 56% for the median hospital between January 2022...Arizona News
Arizona's Medicaid program announced this week that it hit the mid-point of the renewal process and boasted one million retentions to the program. During the quarterly Arizona State Medicaid Advisory Committee (SMAC) meeting this week, AHCCCS reported since April 2023, those losing Medicaid coverage in the state total 320,000 with...Arizona News
It's difficult to say how Medicaid redeterminations are going.
At least 4,777,000 Medicaid enrollees have been disenrolled across the country as of August 15. The KFF Disenrollment Tracker has found that there's large discrepancies in enrollment data state-by-state, with Texas disenrolling the vast majority of its Medicaid population...National News
Fewer Americans are uninsured than ever before according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These numbers are anticipated to rise as Medicaid redeterminations continue.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human services (HHS) announced the milestone on August 3, boasting a 7.7% uninsured rate for the...CMS Rules
As states proceed with Medicaid redeterminations after three years of a pause on eligibility review, hundreds of thousands of Americans are losing insurance coverage, according to early data reports. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are stressing the importance of limiting the number of lost enrollees and facilitating...
The first Medicaid redeterminations since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have been underway in at least five states since the beginning of the month. Health advocacy groups are pressuring U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to ensure that a "health equity and civil rights disaster" does not...
Things are starting to heat up at the legislature with Republican lawmakers sparring with the Democratic Governor's Office over the budget and nominations to department leadership positions.
A bill introduced by Rep. Steve Kaiser (R-Paradise Valley), would allow the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to contract with a third...Arizona News
With the Great Unwinding looming at the end of spring, insurers are now speaking up about their role in Medicaid redeterminations and a special enrollment period (SEP) for enrollees who may lose coverage in the process.
In a memo released at the end of January, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the...National News
As the COVID-19 public health emergency winds down, insurers of Medicaid managed care plans are bracing to lose membership.
Centene is expecting it will lose 2.2 million Medicaid members during the redetermination process over the next year. According to Modern Healthcare, the company had 16 million Medicaid members at the end of...Arizona News
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona's Medicaid program, announced last week that it would initiate member eligibility reviews and renewals in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, beginning April 1.
AHCCCS plans to complete the renewal process for all 2.4 million enrolled members...National News
On Tuesday morning, Congressional lawmakers unveiled a titanic omnibus spending bill that includes a 2% cut to Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors, an extension of the telehealth and hospital-at-home waivers, and several other measures that would unwind policies enacted during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) prior to the...
Arizona cases of COVID-19 are spiking again, heralding the long-awaited winter surge warned of by experts and epidemiologists. But vaccine uptake, especially of the new bivalent booster, remains low as experts cite "vaccine fatigue" among Americans.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero has tested positive for COVID-19 and experiencing mild...
New information on Long COVID is emerging as researchers investigate the causes and symptoms of the elusive condition. Meanwhile, stakeholder groups and providers are appealing to the federal government for guidance on returning to normal operating procedures as perception of the pandemic subsides.
The U.S. Department of Health and...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has signaled that it will delay the end of the public health emergency (PHE) related to the COVID-19 pandemic until April, quelling fears from stakeholders that not enough time was given to review Medicaid eligibility for everyone enrolled since the pandemic began.
In Arizona,...
Following reported success of both the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the antiviral pill Paxlovid, Pfizer has announced that it will move forward on new vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic and influenza at the same time. Meanwhile, stakeholders are requesting an extension of the public health emergency declaration beyond its...
Last Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would streamline the application and renewal process for enrollees in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The overhaul aims to "reduce red tape" and simplify the application and verification process for children,...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (APSE) published a report late last week that projects that 15 million people could lose health coverage once states resume checking Medicaid enrollees for eligibility at the conclusion of the COVID-19 public health...
Community health centers played a central role in coordinating care and economic support to disadvantaged communities during the pandemic, according to a report filed last Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The KFF Report noted that community health centers are experiencing substantial ramifications from the ongoing healthcare...
