Dive Brief: CMS on Monday approved Utah’s request to expand Medicaid to the full extent allowed under the Affordable Care Act, or to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. The expanded program will provide coverage to about 120,000 newly eligible adults starting on Jan. 1, 2020. The plan, which also… Read More: Utah Medicaid expansion, with controversial work rules, gets nod »
Medicaid may be the best driver for healthcare cost reductions, according to Dr. Anita Cattrell, chief innovation officer for Evolent Health, which works with provider-led Medicaid plans to coordinate medical care with social resources for housing, food and behavioral health counseling. Cattrell co-developed Evolent’s Social Needs Index, which flags to physicians when aggregated data suggests… Read More: Medicaid may be the driver to reducing costs »
Dive Brief: Financial incentives can influence who a physician decides to treat and their patients’ overall health, a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found. Even a slight uptick in Medicaid reimbursement can improve school attendance as well, driving down the rate of chronic absenteeism. The paper estimates that a $ 10 increase… Read More: Even $10 increase in Medicaid payments helps erase disparities in… »