President Donald Trump's favorite celebrity doctor is standing behind his new boss on an issue that has sparked opposition even among some Republicans. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump-appointed CMS administrator, wouldn't concede in an interview with POLITICO'S newest podcast that the budget megabill passed by the House will cut Medicaid.
Before, Cleveland Clinic patients were going to be turned away if they couldn't immediately pay their insurance co-pay. Now, in a reversal announced Wednesday, Clinic patients can once again see a doctor without paying first. The Clinic -- which came under criticism for the policy that patient advocates said would limit access to care for the poor -- now will allow those with commercial insurance or Medicare Advantage, who can't pay their co-pay at the time of their non-emergency outpatient visit, to set up a 0% interest payment plan.
Much of the savings in the legislation come from Medicaid. The bill would cut nearly $800 billion from the program through a combination of provisions including work requirements on 'able-bodied adults' through age 64 without dependents, a freeze on provider taxes, more frequent checks of people's eligibility, and reducing federal Medicaid payments to states that provide healthcare coverage for migrants without legal status.
According to a recent study, Granite Staters are still losing when it comes to price transparency from the hospitals that serve them. In fact, not a single major hospital in the state meets the full transparency standard, according to the group Patients Rights Advocate.
State officials and a group representing New Hampshire's hospitals say they've settled a lawsuit over the state's Medicaid Enhancement Tax – ending a year-long dispute that had threatened a key source of funding for the safety-net insurance program. The tax is paid by hospitals, which get most of the money back in the form of Medicaid payments. That arrangement allows the state to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds, which are used to help pay for New Hampshire's Medicaid program.
A federal appeals court has given the green light to a lawsuit accusing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan of mismanaging and profiting from an employer's self-funded health plan — putting claims administration practices under the spotlight.