Tagged: Medicaid

Children’s Mercy Hospital is officially out of the Medicaid HMO business.  The hospital has finalized the sale of its non-profit plan after more than a decade of operation.

Family members and caregivers of Kansans with developmental disabilities are not happy with the Brownback Administration’s plan to include them in the new managed care approach to Medicaid services called KanCare.

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By Bryan Thompson, Kansas Public Radio

Salina, KS – Less than five years after it was created, the Kansas Health Policy Authority is on the chopping block. Governor Sam Brownback wants to abolish the agency, and merge its programs into the Department of Health and Environment.

The Brownback administration says doing so would save nearly $3 million dollars in administrative costs. With a budget of almost $1.5 billion, it's one of the largest operations in state government.

Kansas City, MO – Major problems exist when it comes to health in the U.S...whether it be fragmented care or preventable diseases. That's according to Dr. Donald Berwick, head of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Dr. Berwick shared these concerns with area health leaders on a stop in Kansas City yesterday. But as KCUR's Elana Gordon reports, Dr. Berwick said major improvements are also possible right now.

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By Stephen Koranda, KPR

Topkea, KS – The Kansas Health Policy Authority is continuing to chip away at a backlog of applications for the Medicaid program.

Last month there were more than 17,000 applications that had been waiting at least 45 days. That's down by about 2,000 applications from the month before.

Overall, however, the system is still pretty jammed. New and old applications combined, the backlog reached a peak of about 33,000 in October.

Jefferson City, MO – Some Missouri lawmakers are questioning the way Medicaid benefits are doled out.

Currently, three state agencies -- The departments of Social Services, Health and Senior Services, and Mental Health -- disperse the bulk of Medicaid payments to clients.

Ryan Silvey of Gladstone, the incoming House Budget Committee chair, says that may have to change.

Kansas City, MO – The state of Kansas is experiencing a record enrollment in its Medicaid program.

As of this summer, about 290,000 Kansans were signed up. That's more than the state's ever had on the rolls before.

The increase is highlighted in a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. It looked at Medicaid trends across the country over the past decade.

It found that enrollment increased in every state between December 2008 and 2009.