�������ýҕ�l

The House voted on Friday to avert an estimated $36 billion in cuts to Medicare next year and tens of billions more from farm subsidies and other social safety net programs, moving to stave off deep spending reductions that would otherwise be made to pay for the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill enacted last week. The action, opposed by the vast majority of Republicans, would effectively exempt President Biden’s pandemic aid package from a deficit-reduction law that requires that all spending be offset by automatic, across-the-board cuts to certain government programs. It passed by a vote of 246 to 175, with 29 Republicans joining Democrats to support it. (Cochrane and Sanger-Katz, 3/19)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would prevent Medicare cuts to providers but its future is unclear in the Senate, where Republicans are bitter over the recently passed COVID-19 relief bill that passed along party lines. The legislation, introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) and passed 246-175, would extend a pause on the 2% Medicare sequester cuts through the end of the year. (Hellmann, 3/19)

A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients. For years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) classified 1,740 surgeries and other services so risky for older adults that Medicare would pay for them only when these adults were admitted to the hospital as inpatients. Under the new rule, the agency is beginning to phase out that requirement. On Jan. 1, 266 shoulder, spine and other musculoskeletal surgeries were crossed off what is called the “inpatient-only list.” (Jaffe, 3/21)

as unemployment dramatically spiked last year, reaching a high of 12% in April, thousands of people in the central Pennsylvania county turned to the government for health care. Cumberland County saw a nearly 22% increase in Medicaid enrollment from February 2020 to the same month this year. While that represents the greatest increase in the state, it’s far from an outlier. Enrollment in the program rose by more than 388,000, or 13.7%, during the same time period — reaching 3.2 million people in February. The change represents a dramatic expansion of Pennsylvania’s social safety net, exceeding single-year Medicaid enrollment increases that occurred during the Great Recession, a Spotlight PA analysis found. (Mahon and Olumhense, 3/22)

Congressional Democrats have been adding pressure on states that have not yet expanded Medicaid, the government health insurance plan for poor people. This coming Tuesday, during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, they’ll try to turn the effort up to 11.At the hearing, Democrats will discuss the Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2021, which would allow the federal government to fund at 100% for three years the Medicaid expansion for any state that has not yet expanded it as envisioned by Obamacare. Under Obamacare, states that had not expanded their Medicaid programs by 2014 were not eligible for 100% funding for the first three years. The new bill lets states qualify for full funding at any point in the future. (Hogberg, 3/21)

Democrats' nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package includes a big financial incentive for the states that have opted against expanding Medicaid to provide health coverage for more low-income Americans. It's proving to be a tough sell. The Associated Press surveyed top Republican elected officials in the dozen states that have resisted expanding coverage under a key provision of former President Barack Obama's heath care law. Some have softened their opposition, but the key gatekeepers— governors or legislative leaders — indicated they have no plans to change course. (Mulvihill and Collins, 3/19)

Alabama Republicans for years have opposed expanding Medicaid eligibility. Now, they may be cracking the door. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and legislative leaders said they are reviewing details of the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes new financial incentives for the states that have opted against expanding Medicaid to provide health coverage for more low-income Americans. A spokeswoman for Ivey said the governor is “open to the discussion” on expansion but that state leaders need additional information about the long-term cost projections. (Chandler, 3/22)

It's become a bi-annual tradition in Wisconsin politics: Democrats and Republicans debate whether the state should adopt the full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. A memo released last week by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau found if Wisconsin lawmakers accepted the federal money starting in 2014, it would have brought in an additional $1.6 billion through the current two-year budget. "The idea is to make sure everybody in this state has access to good, quality healthcare," said Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point). (Bayatpour, 3/19)

A state legislative committee has advanced a proposal to cover more people in Wyoming under the federal Medicaid program but time for the measure is running out. The House Revenue Committee voted 5-3 Thursday to send the proposal to the full Wyoming House. A similar measure has been awaiting a vote on the Senate floor. Monday is the deadline for the two bills to receive an initial vote in their chamber of origin or they won't be considered further this year. (3/21)