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About 5 million more Americans enrolled in Medicaid by September 2020 compared with January 2020, a research letter today in JAMA Network Open reports. The data showed that enrollment was flat until March 2020, where expansion and nonexpansion states eventually increased enrollment by 1.4 and 1.6 percentage points, respectively. The researchers found that enrollment increases were associated with Medicaid expansion states but not with steps to simplify the application process. (5/5)

Medicaid enrollment increased more in states with the least job disruption during the pandemic, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study looked at Medicaid enrollment from January 2019 through September 2020. Enrollment was consistent until March 2020 when it began rising. (Stein, 5/5)

The Biden administration is pressuring states to expand Medicaid — and it’s setting up a tussle with the hospital industry, too. The Biden team is running out of options to ensure coverage for low-income people in states that have chosen not to expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act. An early overture in Texas reveals one of its strategies: There, the administration is forcing state officials to renegotiate an agreement that gives hospitals money for uninsured patients, and hospitals are nervous that their funding could be cut in the process. (Cohrs, 5/4)

More states are moving to extend Medicaid benefits to new mothers up to a full year after giving birth, far beyond the 60 days required by federal law. That development, promoted by numerous medical groups as well as official state medical boards that focus on maternal health, reflects increasing alarm over the United States’ maternal mortality rate, which is the worst among developed nations and is trending in the wrong direction. There also is a growing awareness that women face increased health risks not only during pregnancy and labor and delivery, but also for months afterward. Nearly a quarter of postpartum-related deaths occur six weeks to a year after the end of a pregnancy. (Ollove, 5/5)

It’s the part of healthcare that should be the easiest. But for many in Indiana, it has become the toughest. ”I have been fighting this fight for two years,” former social worker Erin Stennett said, fighting back tears. “This could be anybody’s loved ones, and it’s not right, it’s just not right. ”This isn’t a story about the rigors of chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. This is a story about the overlooked act of just getting to the doctor. (Boel, 5/3)

As Iowa’s new Medicaid director prepares to step into the role next month, she and other state leaders say they are focused on strong oversight of the insurance companies administering the program and delivering good outcomes for its members. Elizabeth Matney said the state’s managed-care program has sent “signals of a stable program” since its switch to a privatized program five years ago, enabling state officials to focus on addressing overall population health for the poor and disabled Iowans who rely on Medicaid. (Ramm, 5/4)

A nonprofit backed by the Mississippi Hospital Association plans next week to kick off its petition drive to put Medicaid expansion before voters on the 2022 midterm ballot, hoping to override a recalcitrant Legislature and put expansion in the state constitution. Healthcare for Mississippi next week will hold two yet-to-be announced press conferences — one in central Mississippi and one in the north — announcing the drive and naming numerous other groups that are supporting the campaign. (Pender, 5/4)

Concerns from the public about patient safety at Mission Hospital prompted News 13 to investigate the hospital’s most recent state inspections. What News 13 uncovered was that Mission Hospital's relationship with the nation's largest insurer was in danger of ending in late 2020. (Emert, 5/5)