Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 187: South Carolina Hospitals and Healthcare Industry Trends with Thornton Kirby, SCHA President
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Congress and President Trump have taken the following actions...more
January 30th, 2020 marked a dramatic change in Medicaid funding, as the Trump Administration and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) showcased a plan, called the “Healthy Adult Opportunity,” that would permit...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation’s Capital - Budget Release. The President is scheduled to release his Fiscal Year (FY) 21 budget request today. The bipartisan budget agreement passed earlier this year set the FY 21...more
UPDATED: It’s out! The much anticipated guidance, entitled the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” (HAO), from CMS introducing ways to revamp Medicaid financing has been out for nearly a week and we have had some time to review the...more
In recent weeks, the states of California and Washington, and New York City have proposed expanding Medicaid eligibility for undocumented young adults. Given Medicaid’s combination of state and federal funding, House and...more
Health care issues will remain a central focus in Washington throughout 2019. Having gained control of the House following the 2018 mid-term elections, Democrats now have the ability to block President Trump's legislative...more
On November 20, 2018, Virginia submitted an application to CMS for a Section 1115 demonstration program entitled Virginia COMPASS (Creating Opportunities for Medicaid Participants to Achieve Self-Sufficiency). The application...more
Tuesday’s midterm elections showed that healthcare is now a top issue among voters, according to exit polls. In an NBC News poll, healthcare was the top issue for a plurality of voters, ahead of the economy, immigration, and...more
Healthcare was a top voter priority in the 2018 midterm elections, with 41 percent of national voters stating that healthcare was their "most important" issue. Accordingly, the Democratic strategy to focus on healthcare...more
In 2018, Congress may revisit proposals to enact either per capita caps or a block grant for Medicaid and offer broader flexibility on Medicaid expansion rules. However, major structural reform to Medicaid remains unlikely...more
On October 19, Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Management Associates hosted a joint briefing to release their 17th Annual 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for state fiscal years (FY) 2017 and 2018. The survey highlights...more
Congress is now back in session and, once again, focus has turned to health care. With all eyes on returning health care reform to the forefront, a flurry of activity has sparked new legislative efforts including the...more
Under the Dome: Inside the Maine State House provides a high-level overview of recent activity at the Maine State House. Republicans Challenge Wording of Medicaid Expansion Question on Fall Ballot - Question 2 on...more
After weeks of secrecy, the Senate has released a discussion draft of legislation that is the counterpart of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) previously passed by the House. The Senate legislation, entitled the Better Care...more
On June 22, 2017, Senate Republicans released a draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), their much-anticipated version of the legislation to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Despite rumors of a...more
As the temperature rises in D.C. so does the temperature dial in the Senate. We’re entering week two of the June work period and the timeline for a Senate - version of the AHCA is still unclear. The work is ongoing, and while...more
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently gave a candid assessment of the chances of getting an Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement bill through the Senate, saying “I don’t know how we get to 50 (votes) at the...more
National Activity - House Passes AHCA, Senate Begins Drafting New ACA Replacement Legislation - The House passed the AHCA after a last-minute amendment providing $8 billion intended to reduce out-of-pocket costs for...more
CBO says the House repeal and replace bill could destabilize the individual insurance market in some states; Indiana posts a work requirement amendment to its Medicaid expansion waiver application; and states allow insurers...more
Congress’s official budget scorekeepers this week will release analysis of the House-approved bill repealing most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and that data will inform Senate Republicans on a path for passing their...more
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), by a vote of 217-213 on May 4, 2017, with all Democrats and 20 Republicans opposing the bill. The legislation traversed a...more
Last week, the House took the first step to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by passing a bill titled “The American Health Care Act” (AHCA). On May 4, 2017, after numerous fits and starts over the past...more
In a surprising reversal, last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would significantly modify the Affordable Care Act. The legislation, known as the American Health Care Act (the “AHCA”, H.R. 1628),...more
On May 4, 2017, the House passed by a 217-213 vote, the measure referred to as the American Health Care Act (“Trumpcare”), which is intended to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)....more
Arkansas - Governor Proposes Changes to Medicaid Expansion Waiver as House Passes Bill to Cap Expansion Enrollment - Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) released a proposal to amend the State's Medicaid expansion waiver by...more