Cath Lab Digest

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found that 16 states limit the number of drugs people enrolled in Medicaid can receive, with seven having done so in the past two years.

In addition, 13 states are cutting spending on Medicaid, according to a Kaiser Health News survey of state Medicaid programs. The report noted states are achieving savings through decreasing payments to providers, reducing benefits, or making it harder to enroll in Medicaid through more stringent eligibility requirements.

The news comes shortly after the Supreme Court surprised many industry participants and governments by ruling that states can choose not to expand Medicaid in 2014 without any repercussions. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act had mandated that states must expand Medicaid or lose their current funding from the federal government.

Medicaid enrollment is expected to increase by 16 million people in 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office, although the number may be lower now that states may not expand their programs.

The following states have Medicaid drug limits, according to Kaiser: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Read the articles from Kaiser at:

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/July/25/medicaid-cuts-sideb...
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/July/25/medicaid-cuts.aspx
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/July/25/Medicaid-Cuts-Chart...

The Kaiser Family Foundation has numerous resources on Medicaid available at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/index.cfm