Trump’s nominee to run Medicare, Medicaid advances
Indiana health care consultant Seema Verma was approved by the Finance Committee on a 13-12 party-line vote.
Medicaid
Articles
Trump health pick from Indiana says Medicaid needs major overhaul
Indiana health care consulting executive Seema Verma on Thursday testified before the Senate Finance Committee on her nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.
Pick for Medicare post faces questions on Indiana contracts
A review by The Associated Press found Seema Verma and her small Indianapolis-based firm made millions through consulting agreements with at least nine states while also working under contract for Hewlett Packard.
Holcomb’s HIP 2.0 waiver likely to sail through Washington
The Trump administration and its pick to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are likely to champion the approach behind HIP 2.0—a Medicaid expansion that requires those receiving insurance coverage to have "skin in the game" by contributing financially.
Light ’em if you got ’em—plenty of Hoosiers on Medicaid doing just that
A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pushing states with high Medicaid smoking rates to do more to encourage enrollees to quit and live longer.
Trump picks Pence ally Verma for cabinet position
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he’ll nominate Seema Verma, founder of Indianapolis-based SVC Inc. and architect of the Healthy Indiana Plan, as his pick for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Cigna can’t sign new Medicare customers as probe lingers
Health insurer Cigna Corp., which has an agreement to be acquired by Anthem Inc., won’t be able to sign customers for its private Medicare plans during the fall enrollment season because of an investigation by U.S. regulators.
State, feds battle over review of HIP 2.0
As Indiana’s expansion of the federal Medicaid program enters its second year, the Pence administration is brawling with federal officials, who want to conduct an evaluation of it.
Medicaid cuts spell trouble for home health firms
The state’s Family and Social Services Administration is set to cut home health care Medicaid reimbursements for licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, aides, therapists and pathologists.
Time to cheer on the struggling YMCA
The national not-for-profit organization, trying to fight back against high-end gyms and boutique studios, is now a national model for diabetes prevention.
House passes bill making Healthy Indiana plan permanent
The Indiana House has approved a bill that would codify into law Gov. Mike Pence's statewide expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul.
Feds want to cut off funding for Carmel home health firm
Carmel-based Nightingale Home Healthcare Inc. is trying to keep from being kicked out of the federal Medicare program for allegedly putting patients in “immediate jeopardy,” according to documents in a bankruptcy reorganization case the company filed in December.
Teen births fall in Indiana, nation
Teen births have fallen to a record low in the United States and dropped sharply in Indiana too, a development that could save taxpayers millions of dollars in public health services and other assistance.
Cash crunch forces large home health agency into bankruptcy protection
Carmel-based Nightingale Home Healthcare Inc., which serves nearly 900 Hoosier patients, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and won court approval to borrow $350,000 from its parent company to make payroll.
Nursing homes work to ‘rebalance’ Medicaid spending without managed care
State government has long wanted to shift spending on long-term care from nursing homes to home- and community-based care. Now Gov. Mike Pence’s administration is working with nursing homes to make that happen.
All of a sudden, HIP 2.0 has a cloudy future
Gov. Mike Pence’s expanded version of the Healthy Indiana Plan looked secure after winning approval from the Obama administration in January. But now it faces threats from both liberals and conservatives.
Half of insurers on Indiana Obamacare market are losing money
UnitedHealthcare, MDwise, IU Health Plans and Assurant all disclosed losses during the first nine months of this year on the policies they are selling on the federal marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.
Looks like business growth is slowing down at Indiana hospitals
Profits and patient visits remain strong at Community Health Network and Indiana University Health, but their Obamacare-fueled growth is decelerating.
Covering the uninsured brings only a small benefit for the insured
Hospitals have long argued that they pass on the cost of the uninsured to private insurance customers. But a new study shows that’s less than half-true.
IU Health aims to extend insurance service to 1M Hoosiers
The Indianapolis-based hospital system said its efforts to reduce patients’ need for expensive health care services, known as population health, slashed the use of hospitals, nursing homes and expensive imaging scans among the 140,000 Hoosiers IU Health now serves.