Republican Lawmakers In Pa. Weigh Changes To Medicaid, Adding Work Requirement

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Healthcare Advocacy Groups Oppose Effort To Add Medicaid Work Requirement

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf scrapped his predecessor’s health plan in favor of a Medicaid expansion when he took over as Pennsylvania governor in 2015. But now a Medicaid plan with features of former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s Healthy PA — including a work requirement — could become law under Mr. Wolf. Legislation passed by the state Senate late last month could re-shape the commonwealth’s Medicaid program — potentially making benefit changes and requiring work from the pro­gram’s able-bodied recipients. (Giammarise, 8/7)

Las Vegas Review-Journal:
High-Stakes Health-Care Debate Hits Nevada’s Medicaid Program

Nevada expanded its Medicaid program in 2014 as authorized by the ACA, adding some 210,000 residents to its rolls. As a result, hundreds of millions of additional federal dollars flow through the program into Nevada’s health care system annually. In total, 637,795 Nevadans were enrolled in the program as of June, an increase of 175 percent from the 231,923 who participated in 2010. While the political threat to the program has at least temporarily eased, with the Republican-led Congress turning to tax reform and other matters, it is far from over. (Botkin, 8/5)

In other Medicaid news —

Reuters:
Illinois Fights Potential Hike In Disabled Care Funding

Illinois fought on Friday against a potential court order it contends could cost the state, which just ended an unprecedented budget impasse, as much as an additional $1 billion annually to care for developmentally disabled people. In arguments before U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, advocates for disabled people living outside of institutions said Illinois is violating a federal consent decree by failing to provide required services due to insufficient funding. (Pierog, 8/4)