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Medicaid Updates
Welcome to the National Rural Health Association's Medicaid page where NRHA will track the latest news, reports and legislation regarding Medicaid.
NRHA policy on Medicaid reform:
NRHA supports state flexibility in principle; however, turning Medicaid into a block grant program is likely to have a disproportionate impact on rural beneficiaries and rural providers. NRHA supports the continuation of Medicaid as a program where all individuals who meet eligibility requirements are covered. NRHA also supports a basic level of benefit protection for mandatory and optional beneficiaries, inclusion of elderly and disabled in the definition of "mandatory population," and inclusion of long-term care in the definition of "mandatory benefits." Any current or future federal Medicaid reform proposals should include provisions for a rural impact study of state practices with block granted programs in the past.
See the FULL NRHA POLICY PAPER on Medicaid Reform in Rural America for more information.
Recent Medicaid News
5/12/2011
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), postponed taking up a "maintenance of effort" bill, H.R. 1683, the State Flexibility Act of 2011, that would repeal Medicaid eligibility rules in the healthcare reform law yesterday until today, May 12.
For Rep. Pitts' statement, click here.
5/12/2011
The Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured released an analysis of the House Republican Budget Plan: State-By-State Impact of Changes in Medicaid Financing. To view this analysis, click here.
