- Trump's Move May Nudge Holdout GOP States to Expand Medicaid Associated Press by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar — In an ironic twist, the Trump administration's embrace of work requirements for low-income people on Medicaid is prompting lawmakers in some conservative states to resurrect plans to expand health care for the poor. Trump's move has been widely criticized as threatening the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. But if states follow through, more Americans could get coverage. "I think it gives us a chance," said Kansas state Rep. Susan Concannon, a moderate Republican who pushed unsuccessfully for Medicaid expansion last year in her state.
- Kentucky's Medicaid Work Requirement Isn't Only Target in Court Bloomberg by Erik Larson — Kentucky's proposed work requirement for Medicaid recipients is just one aspect of the state's overhaul of the health care plan that some experts say puts it at risk of being overturned in court. The proposed class-action suit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington contends the rules contradict the stated purpose of Medicaid, which is to encourage coverage. They cite more documentation of work and income and lockout periods for people who fail to pay revised premiums on time or miss re-certification deadlines. The income documentation requirement is a particular problem for lower-wage workers "whose income can fluctuate considerably from month to month or season to season," said Deborah Bachrach, who ran New York state's Medicaid program and advises clients on health-care law Manatt Phelps in Manhattan. Kentucky's proposal just "adds hoops that an individual has to jump through in order to maintain health care."
- Oregon Approves New Taxes to Address Medicaid Costs Associated Press by Gillian Flaccus — Oregon approved taxes on hospitals, health insurers, and managed care companies in an unusual special election Tuesday that asked voters — and not lawmakers — how to pay for Medicaid costs that now include coverage of hundreds of thousands of low-income residents added to the program's rolls under the Affordable Care Act. Measure 101 was passing handily in early returns Tuesday night. The single-issue election drew national attention to this progressive state, which aggressively expanded its Medicaid rolls under President Barack Obama's health care reforms. Oregon now has one of the lowest rates of uninsured residents in the nation at 5 percent. About 1 million Oregonians — 25 percent — now receive health care coverage from Medicaid. The measure creates a 0.7 percent tax on some hospitals and a 1.5 percent tax on the gross health insurance premiums and on managed care organizations. The nonpartisan voter pamphlet said if the measure failed, the state might lose an additional $630 million to $960 million in federal Medicaid matching funds that flow to the poorest in the state.