Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar granted approval to Indiana to incorporate state Medicaid modifications, including work requirements, lockout provisions, and premium increases. Indiana’s waiver now requires able-bodied individuals younger than 60 years of age to work at least 20 hours per week on average, be enrolled in…
Read More »The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released a report analyzing Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket health care spending as a share of income, both currently and projections moving into the future. The report presents estimates for out-of-pocket spending burden for Medicare beneficiaries overall, as well as by demographic, socioeconomic, and health status measures. The report found: In…
Read More »On Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown delivered his sixteenth and final State of the State Address at the State Capitol in Sacramento. Brown’s address was largely optimistic and highlighted the state’s unprecedented economic growth, cap-and-trade program, pension overhaul reforms, and bipartisan solutions to transportation and infrastructure funding. By nearly all measures, Brown declared that California is…
Read More »With few days remaining before the January 31 deadline for two-year bills to be advanced from their house of origin, the Legislature this week continued consideration and action on a handful of measures. Busy floor sessions in both the Senate and Assembly early next week are likely to result in a number of bills that…
Read More »The Assembly Budget Committee held a hearing on Tuesday to provide an overview of Governor Brown’s proposed 2018-19 State Budget. In like fashion of last week’s Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee overview hearing, Amy Costa from the Department of Finance walked members through major components of the Governor’s proposal and Mac Taylor from the…
Read More »After a stalemate in negotiations over government funding and immigration, the U.S. Government entered partial federal government shutdown beginning at midnight last Friday. Senate Republicans and Democrats spent a fair amount of the weekend directing blame toward one another over the shutdown after not enough votes were secured to pass a four week continuing resolution…
Read More »On Wednesday, Alex Azar was confirmed as the next U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. Azar was confirmed on a 55-43 vote with all but one Republican, six Democrats, and one Independent senator voting in support of the appointee. HHS has been without a permanent leader for nearly four months after then-Secretary…
Read More »This week, the Trump Administration renewed its public health emergency declaration related to the national opioid epidemic. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a notice signed by HHS Acting Secretary Eric Hargan renewing the declaration for another 90 days. The initial emergency declaration was declared by Hargan on October 26, 2017,…
Read More »In a study recently published by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is linked to improved health outcomes and lower health care costs. In a typical month in 2017, SNAP provided food assistance to nearly 42 million low-income Americans. Emerging research has shown: Food insecurity increases the…
Read More »With hours remaining until the federal government enters a partial shutdown beginning at midnight, a government funding deal has yet to be struck among Congressional leaders and the White House. In what is reported to be a highly volatile situation, Congressional Republicans are beginning to place blame on Senate Democrats for forcing the political standoff…
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