Tag Archives: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Another complaint filed over abortion denial

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not a lawsuit but a federal complaint about improper emergency care. Two women have filed complaints with the federal government alleging that Texas hospitals denied them abortion care necessary to treat their ectopic pregnancies. The complaints were filed August 6 … Continue reading →

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Texas takes another shot at Planned Parenthood

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They have a cheat code available, so they use it. For more than a decade, the state has been trying and failing to chase Planned Parenthood out of Texas. Texas restricted and then banned abortion. The state removed Planned Parenthood … Continue reading →

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Feds rebuke hospitals that didn’t do emergency abortions

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Relevant to our interests. Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found. … Continue reading →

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Vaccine mandate for health care workers blocked

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’d say this is getting ridiculous, but we’re well past that point. A federal judge on Monday blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in 10 states that had brought … Continue reading →

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The nursing home vaccination mandate

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This just seems obvious to me. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he is directing all nursing homes to require their staff be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to continue receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden said he is directing the Department … Continue reading →

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Texas gets its Medicaid 1115 waiver back

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hrmph. A federal district judge on Friday temporarily reinstated a 10-year extension of a federal health care program that Texas uses to help pay for health care for uninsured Texans and is worth billions of dollars annually. The agreement was … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over revocation of Medicaid 1115 waiver

Posted on May 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Someone please explain to me if this has any merit. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration Friday to reinstate an eight-year extension to a federal health care funding agreement, worth billions of dollars annually and set to … Continue reading →

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Today is not the day we expand Medicaid

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow isn’t looking so good either. The Texas House on Thursday rejected an attempt to direct the governor and state health officials to use billions in federal dollars to expand health care coverage for uninsured Texans, including working poor who … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion by any means necessary

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever it takes. But I’ll believe it when I see it, and I have a very hard time believing that the current cast of characters will do anything to make it happen. Texas Republicans have been swift to condemn the … Continue reading →

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Now it really is time for Texas to expand Medicaid

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good for the Biden administration putting the pressure on. The Biden administration on Friday rescinded changes to a federal funding agreement, known as a 1115 waiver, that would have extended for 10 years Texas’ health care safety net for uninsured … Continue reading →

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Medicaid and hospitals

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A proposed change in Medicaid rules could cost Texas hospitals billions of dollars, forcing many to cut services and some rural hospitals to close their doors, health care industry officials said. The … Continue reading →

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State seeks Medicaid money it gave up over Planned Parenthood ban

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Four years after Texas gave up millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funds so it could ban Planned Parenthood from participating in a family planning program for low-income women, the state is asking the Trump administration for the money … Continue reading →

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Let’s please get the children covered

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Surely that’s not too much to ask. Five nonprofit organizations and community groups in Texas, including three in the Houston area, have been awarded a combined $4.78 million by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to boost efforts to … Continue reading →

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Feds grant 15 month Medicaid waiver extension

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope they keep the pressure on to expand Medicaid during this time. The Obama administration has agreed to temporarily keep some federal Medicaid money flowing into Texas to help hospitals treat uninsured patients, a relief to health care … Continue reading →

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Two Medicaid stories

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: State health officials confirmed Tuesday they have asked the Obama administration to keep a 15-month lifeline of federal Medicaid money flowing into Texas to help hospitals treat uninsured patients. That money would offer temporary relief to health care providers who face losing … Continue reading →

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Texas vs Planned Parenthood, part one million

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This was going to happen sooner or later. Texas health officials say they are kicking Planned Parenthood out of the state Medicaid program entirely over what they called “acts of misconduct” revealed in undercover videos filmed earlier this year. Republican … Continue reading →

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No, seriously, expand Medicaid or else

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bring. It. On. The federal government is officially holding state leaders’ feet to the fire, hoping to get Texas to expand its Medicaid program to provide health insurance to more low-income Texans. Federal officials called the state’s health agency this … Continue reading →

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Texas Obamacare enrollments top 850K

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And counting. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday announced nearly 860,000 Texans so far have enrolled in health insurance marketplace coverage with a month left still left to go until the 2015 open enrollment period ends. … Continue reading →

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Does any of this sound like “Medicaid Expansion” to you?

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So Wonkblog, TPM, and BOR, all riffing off the same news story in which Greg Abbott had a clandestine meeting with Houston-area legislators and may have said some things that made them think he might be open to “Medicaid expansion”, … Continue reading →

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Obamacare 2.0

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The open enrollment period for the Obamacare insurance exchanges is going on right now. This year, the feds are taking a more direct approach to getting people to enroll. Secretary for Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, whose appearance at … Continue reading →

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Expand Medicaid or else

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out the federal government has more leverage over Texas than you might think. If Texas wants to keep receiving billions of federal dollars to help hospitals care for uninsured patients, state lawmakers may have to look again at expanding … Continue reading →

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And the first open enrollment period comes to an end

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of people signed up in the last few days of enrollment. Some tried but came away empty. Some of the hundreds of Houstonians who sought last-minute help enrolling for the Affordable Care Act on Sunday left thrilled to have … Continue reading →

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ACA enrollments top 200K in Texas

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Despite continued fierce resistance from state leadership, people keep signing up for health insurance in Texas via the Healthcare.Gov exchange. Enrollment in the federal health insurance marketplace continued to steadily climb in January, according to data the U.S. Department of … Continue reading →

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Arkansas will expand Medicaid

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If they can do it… [Friday], the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services notified state officials in Arkansas that it has approved the states’ Medicaid expansion plan. And this is not any old expansion plan: Arkansas will be the only … Continue reading →

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An awful lot of people tried to sign up for insurance exchanges on Tuesday

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a very good thing, even if technical difficulties prevented many of them from completing the job. On the first day of sign-ups for President Barack Obama’s health care reform, a wave of consumers across the nation, including many Texans, … Continue reading →

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Premiums for insurance exchange plans released

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Guess what? They’re pretty darned affordable. “In just 99 days, millions of Americans will finally have the security and peace of mind that have eluded them for years,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on a press … Continue reading →

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Perry keeps asking for the same Medicaid waiver he hasn’t gotten in the past

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Same as it ever was. Gov. Rick Perry is preparing for yet another battle in his war against Obamacare. In a letter to the state’s health agency on Monday, the governor laid out his plan to request a federal waiver … Continue reading →

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People who don’t know about Obamacare can’t benefit from Obamacare

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

One suspects that’s the point. Texans, and in particular the state’s Hispanic population, might remain in the dark on the benefits of the new federal health care law because outreach efforts are largely focusing on the 24 states participating in … Continue reading →

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What Obamacare will do for Texas

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Even without Medicaid expansion, the Affordable Care Act will help millions of Texans get access to health care. Nearly 2.6 million Texans could qualify for tax credits to purchase health insurance in 2014, according to a report released Thursday by … Continue reading →

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