It has been one week since open enrollment began for Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma. Officials say there are about 200,000 Oklahomans that qualify for Medicaid expansion, and thousands have already signed up for healthcare benefits. In fact, almost 100,000 Oklahomans have already signed up for Medicaid.
Ellen Phillips hasn’t eaten much solid food over the past year and a half. She has lost all of her upper teeth — badly infected, they had to be extracted in 2019. Her tongue is constantly swollen. “I do well with Cheerios, applesauce and chocolate pudding, but I literally choke if I try to eat solid food, and that’s not how I should be eating,” said Ms. Phillips, 76, who is diabetic.
A lawsuit that sought to block Nebraska from imposing a two-tiered Medicaid expansion system with more benefits for people working, volunteering or meeting other requirements is on hold after state officials said they would give all participants the same benefits.
For many low-income people in the US, getting insured isn’t enough to get health care: Patients with Medicaid can struggle to find a doctor willing to take their health insurance. And this happens in large part because, for doctors and providers, billing Medicaid is a pain. A recent study by researchers from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the University of Chicago, and the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco found providers run into more obstacles when trying to bill Medicaid than they do with other insurers, and that these administrative hurdles explain the access problems experienced by Medicaid patients as much as the program’s payment rates.
New York state Sen. Jabari Brisport (D) on Monday said that a bill for single-payer health care in New York has the support needed to pass and override any potential vetoes from Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). "This is legislation that's been introduced time and time again since 1992. This is the first time ever in nearly 30 years that we have a majority of co-sponsors on the legislation in both the New York State Assembly and the State Senate. So we have majority support in both houses and we just need to vote on it," Brisport said while appearing on Hill.TV's "Rising."
June is the month that we celebrate dads. What better time is there for men to get their health screenings scheduled? Even healthy men need to get health screenings for preventive care. If you are a man with Medicare coverage, now is the time to talk with your doctor about getting screened for prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease.