Health

"Ohio's prison system saved $10 million in medical expenses as a result of changes to Medicaid and is on the verge of releasing inmates with health care in hand. The savings from fiscal year 2014, which ended on June 30, are expected to climb to $18 million for the current fiscal year. Officials credit the savings to a combination of changes implemented with the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. The expansion occurred midway through the 2014 fiscal year."

"For many Americans, this is the reality. They are part of a household that can afford good health insurance and they have come from a culture that goes to the doctor when needed and can pay for medicines when prescribed. Another sizable number are able to access basic medical services thanks to the Medicaid programs administered by the states with funding from the federal government."

"On a more tangible level, it encourages the treatment of mental health, substance abuse and dental disease as part of physical health care, not as a separate type of care. This is overdue. Not surprisingly, the first item in the Democratic gubernatorial candidate's plan is to expand Medicaid under provisions of the Affordable Care Act."

"Charlie Crist says he believes there is a good argument that a Florida governor could expand the state's Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act through an executive order without approval by the Legislature and that he might seek to do so if elected governor."

"Since becoming law in 2010, the Affordable Care Act has been subject to a barrage of revisions and lawsuits designed to amend, improve or topple the controversial legislation -- depending on your point of view. During the past four years, more than 42 significant changes have been made to the ACA, according to the Galen Institute, a nonprofit health and tax policy research group. They include 24 changes made by President Obama, 16 passed by Congress and two by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hundreds of additional lawsuits are working their way through the courts, challenging key provisions of the law."

"Now let's look to the future of Healthy Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, that's where its bad "side effects" can be found. It creates a third health care delivery system, in addition to the Medicaid Managed Care system and the federally facilitated exchanges. Small changes in income will send people from one system to the other, creating many opportunities for bureaucratic mischief that could interrupt their coverage. Starting in 2016, the Welfare Department will be able to charge Pennsylvanians living from 100 percent to 138 percent of the poverty level (for an individual that's an annual income of up to $16,105, and for a family of four that's an annual income of up to $32,913) 2 percent of their monthly income for coverage. That's a higher premium than any other state has sought to charge its low-income residents."

"Twenty-nine of 50 eligible schools in Vermont have chosen to participate in this program, according to the governor's office. The program is part of the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Concannon said. The 'Community Eligibility Provision' of that law has already been introduced in several states but this year opened to all 50 states. Schools qualify if they have a high number of children whose family income is 185 percent or less of the federal poverty level (for a family of four that means $23,850) and if they have a high percentage of children whose family income has been verified through another state or federal program, such as ReachUp or food stamps, Concannon said."

"This is a big deal because the Arkansas approach has been seen as the most likely model under which GOP-friendly states might eventually expand Medicaid. But the GAO report is a reminder that the economics of the Arkansas model might not work and that the private-option waiver might not be funded after three years. But the big challenges facing the Medicaid expansion don't only involve the private variation. The public version of the Medicaid expansion is about to hit its own funding wall starting in January when the Affordable Care Act's boost in funding for Medicaid primary care doctors expires."

"Rather than simply expanding Medicaid - a program that sometimes essentially denies care to the poor because doctors avoid its low reimbursement rates - Corbett sought to reform it. Corbett's program seeks to provide coverage to an estimated 600,000 additional Pennsylvanians by offering them federal subsidies to purchase private insurance. This will reduce disruption for those whose incomes rise enough to no longer qualify for the program and likely provide better coverage overall."