Just before Frank Berry left his job as head of Georgia’s Medicaid agency this summer, he said the state “will be looking for the best bang for the buck” in its upcoming contract with private insurers to cover the state’s most vulnerable. But whether the state — and Medicaid patients…
Medicaid expansion tied to improvements in blood pressure, glucose control
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has been linked with better quality of care and service capacity at federally qualified heath centers (FQHCs), but there is little evidence of the long-term impact of this expansion on FQHCs nationwide. A new study led by a School of Public Health researcher…
Researchers test a peer-led intervention for people struggling with serious mental illnesses
People who struggle with serious mental illnesses are more likely to die early – about 10 to 30 years early – than those without mental illness from any cause. Many factors contribute to this disparity including poor access to care, undetected health conditions and difficulty managing chronic health conditions. Addressing…
Biden Quietly Transforms Medicaid Safety Net
The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program. Biden’s efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump…
Pandemic Swells Medicaid Enrollment to 80 Million People
The pandemic-caused recession and a federal requirement that states keep Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled until the national emergency ends swelled the pool of people in the program by more than 9 million over the past year, according to a report released Thursday. The latest figures show Medicaid enrollment grew from 71.3…
Biden seeks $400 billion to buttress long-term care. A look at what’s at stake.
There's widespread agreement that it's important to help older adults and people with disabilities remain independent as long as possible. But are we prepared to do what's necessary, as a nation, to make this possible? That's the challenge President Joe Biden has put forward with his bold proposal to spend…
Less Risk of Hypoglycemia With Long-Acting Insulin in Elderly
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Long-acting insulin analogs may be a safer option than neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH, also known as isophane insulin) in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes initiating insulin therapy, according to a large observational study. The study, in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that the long-acting insulin…
Financially stressed families save more with Medicaid, study shows
Financially burdened families’ savings get a shot in the arm with access to Medicaid, according to a new study from CU Boulder, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis and Diego Portales University in Chile. The paper appears in the upcoming edition of the Journal…
Utah won’t get enhanced funding for partial Medicaid boost
President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected Utah’s planned request for enhanced federal funding for partial expansion of its Medicaid program, state officials said Saturday. A statement released Saturday by Gov. Gary Herbert, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad Wilson, all Republicans, said the White House told Utah officials…