Clay’s Weekly Medicaid RoundUp: Week of February 20th, 2017

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2lRoz5n

Or you can click the one for optimist readers –  http://bit.ly/2lRbJno

 

THE WHEAT STATE TILTS AT WINDMILLS- Either KS and ME know something we don’t, or these 2 states are about to get approval for Medicaid expansion in the era of Trump. ME got it on the ballot and KS reps just passed it in their house. Or maybe lefty reps in both states are play-acting to look good for their base since Dems in generally are licking wounds right now? You decide. News and Weather at 10.

 

HEART OF DIXIE WANTS CAID FOR CONS- Err, sorry I meant to say “justice-involved.” Please don’t take away my snowflake card. Senator Cam Ward wants Alabama to get some help from the federalis to cover inmate costs. If his bill goes through, the feds (that translates to “taxpayers in other states”) will pay 70% of the costs of healthcare for Bama’s bad guys.

 

CONTINUED CHAOS IN UNHINGED WHITE HOUSE WITH DARK VISION OF AMERICA. DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! RUSSIANS! RESIST! Actually, yet another logical, calculated appointment was made to President Trump’s team this week. Brian Blase just joined the staff. Blase is a PhD economist who spent time as a Senate staffer and has been very open about his criticism of current Medicaid financing shenanigans. Couple this with the appointment of Price to DHS and Veerma to CMS- Mr. Trump is not joking about transforming Caid. The Resistance will have to do better than misbehaving at town halls and worshipping Michael Moore if they want to effectively shape what’s coming.

 

BEAVER STATE SEES DROP IN ENROLLMENT– There’s been about an 11% drop in Oregon Caid enrollment comparing Jan 17 to Mar 16. This translates into 133,000 less managed care members, which = 133k x 12 x the average cap rate less money for the MCOs (CCOs) in Oregon (I do fancy Medicaid math, you should sign a consulting agreement and pay me to do fancy Medicaid math for you. I also put most of my internal thought processes in parentheses [rarely in brackets] {and never in whatever these things are}). That’s a lot less cash the MCOs (CCOs) have to operate and will probably lead to some sort of horse-trading required come rate-setting time.

 

MOLINA POSTS NY CAID LOSS; RECENT SIGNALS OF EXITING EXCHANGES- Revenues for Molina in NY dropped $185M YOY, resulting in an overall $192M Q4 loss. The main culprit? Having to pay $322M into a risk adjustment pool that then got redistributed to other MCOs who showed higher risk memberships. Molina has also recently begun socializing the idea of it pulling an Aetna and exiting the exchanges.

 

XEROX (OLD ACS) ASKS JUDGE TO LIMIT THE PAIN IN THE LONESTAR STATE- The flailing MMIS giant has alleged that the state is using “a web of lawsuits” to jack up potential settlements related to that whole debacle over prior auth for orthodontics services for TX Medicaid bennies. Xerox wants to be able to designate the dentists involved as responsible 3rd parties. TX wants to be able to sue Xerox AND the dentists separately. The suit currently rings up at about $1B in potential payouts.

 

 

FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– None this week dear readers. I hear you collectively, depressively sighing. But remember- I gave you an entire Roundup of Fraud Follies like 2 weeks ago. Remember that. Hold it close.

 

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (its spring. You know its spring.) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

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