The U.S. Department of Agriculture has added Alabama and seven other states to the 19 where students receiving Medicaid coverage will be automatically added to the program offering free or reduced-price school lunches.
The political organization led by Democratic Party activist Stacey Abrams is branching out into paying off medical debts.
If you’re uninsured or under-insured, The Wellness Coalition in Montgomery wants to help. It’s offering a new free service to help you get the coverage you can afford. The organization can now help get you enrolled in an affordable health care plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace and Alabama Medicaid over the phone. More than a dozen employees were recently trained…
The Trump administration’s drive to wean poor people from government benefits by making them work has been slowed down by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg framed a fundamental question: Are poverty programs meant to show tough love or to help the needy? Boasberg last week halted Kentucky’s first-in-the-nation experiment with Medicaid work requirements, ruling that the…
Alabama is restoring enhanced payments for primary care doctors who treat Medicaid patients. Gov. Robert Bentley announced Thursday that the state will restore the enhanced payments that were cut because of budget troubles. The “primary care bump” put some Medicaid primary care reimbursement rates on par with Medicare rates. The Alabama Medicaid Agency this summer ended the payment bump and…
State senators will debate a division of Alabama’s oil spill settlement funds that could help fill an $85 million hole in the state’s Medicaid budget. The Alabama Senate is expected to take up the bill Wednesday. The debate could get contentious as senators have squabbled over how much should help Medicaid and how much should go for road projects in…
Louisiana is becoming the first state in the Republican-dominated Deep South to expand its Medicaid program. More than 233,000 people – largely the working poor – have been enrolled so far in the government-financed insurance coverage offered under the health law championed by President Barack Obama. The expanded coverage starts Friday. Medicaid expansion fulfills of one of Democratic Gov. John…
U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr., Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, United States Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, announced today an unprecedented nationwide sweep led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in 36 federal districts, resulting in criminal and civil charges against 301 individuals, including 61 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals,…
Alabama lawmakers will hold hearings this week on the state’s Medicaid program. The House and Senate general fund budget committee have scheduled a joint meeting Wednesday to discuss funding for the health care program that covers approximately a million Alabamians. House Speaker Mike Hubbard said last week that lawmakers plan to question Medicaid officials about the agency’s finances and costs….
Alabama lawmakers could give final approval to the General Fund budget on Tuesday, setting up an expected veto by Gov. Robert Bentley over Medicaid funding. Bentley said Monday that the spending plan is unacceptable and he will veto it. The budget is $85 million short of the amount Bentley says is needed to adequately fund the state’s Medicaid program. Senate…
