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Doctors ‘cringe’ at possibility of documenting which Medicaid enrollees too sick to work
Sam Whitehead, KFF Health News, July 20
Alice Thornton has spent more than two decades treating people living with HIV in Lexington, Kentucky. She says her team tends to “cringe” anytime they hear about their patients having to fill out lots of paperwork, because it can be a difficult, burdensome process. She worries that will be the case when Medicaid work requirements take effect. Final regulations say people can obtain an exemption if they’re “medically frail” or too sick or disabled to work. For Thornton and other doctors that could mean being forced to assess things like how much a patient can lift or how far they can walk. “If I’m asked, ‘Is this person medically frail?’ What does that even mean?” Thornton said. “I don’t know, and I’ve been doing this for 25 years.”
States want to bring Medicaid behind bars. Federal changes are making that harder.
Julie Wernau, Tradeoffs, July 14
Several states are starting to offer Medicaid coverage for people before they leave jail or prison, with the goal of making sure they have a better chance of staying out of jail and staying alive. It allows for people to be screened for substance use disorder, provided with medications, and connected to care before they are released among other services. Now, some Medicaid agencies say federal changes are making it impossible for them to replicate those efforts in their states. At least three states have paused their work because of H.R. 1, which has forced them to focus on other urgent tasks and limited funding.
ICE shared Medicaid data it wasn’t supposed to have with Palantir
Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, July 18
After Medicaid officials improperly shared data about millions of people with immigration officials earlier this year, ICE then shared that data with Palantir. Palantir is a data analytics firm that operates an app called ELITE that is used by ICE agents to show the addresses of noncitizens who may be subject to deportation. That was revealed in a motion filed by more than 20 attorneys general who have sued the Trump administration over its data-sharing agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and ICE. Palantir states that the data it received has been deleted.
Connecticut man receives approval for lifesaving transplant after third insurance rejection
Jamel Johnson, Fox61 News, July 20
A Connecticut man who was denied insurance coverage three times for a lifesaving transplant has received approval after the Office of the State Comptroller overturned the latest denial. Justin Oswell requires a complex transplant of multiple organs after specialists determined it is his only chance for survival. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield denied coverage for the procedure three times, including an appeal submitted by Oswell’s medical team advocating for the procedure. Without insurance, the surgery would cost almost $2 million. The Office of the State Comptroller has directed that the procedure be covered.
Free Uber rides are helping Hartford residents get to lifesaving medical care
Cris Villalonga-Vivoni, CT Insider, July 17
Angel Lorenzana visits the doctor’s office multiple times a week between dialysis treatment, iron injections, and primary care. He was relying on public transit for every appointment, which was quickly adding up. It forced him to pick and choose which appointments to go to. It’s no longer a problem thanks to a Hartford Public Library program that offers city residents Uber rides and public transit vouchers at no cost. In Connecticut, around 15% of adults said they don’t have reliable transportation, impacting urban, low-income and Black and Latino residents at twice the rate. For many, that acts as a barrier to health care.