Ohio informs state veterans on Medicaid about the option of VA care

May 29 2014

Some states have saved money by shifting veterans to the federally funded VA health system.

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Veterans On Medicaid Might Have Option Of VA Care 
The state is taking preliminary steps toward notifying Ohio's veterans who are currently enrolled in the state's Medicaid program that they could qualify for a potentially richer set of federal health-care benefits. An undetermined number of Ohio's 880,000 veterans are enrolled in Medicaid, and having a formal notification program, as 15 states do, has saved some programs money (Southerly, 5/27). 

Meanwhile, in other states -

Tulsa World: Providers Fear Medicaid Cuts Could Limit Patients' Access To Care 
As part of the overall budget agreement in the state Legislature, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority will receive a flat budget next year. The authority administers the state's Medicaid program using a combination of federal and state funds. The state is proposing to cut payments to medical providers such as Wheaton who treat Medicaid patients to make up for a projected $90 million budget deficit next fiscal year. Other proposed program cuts include eliminating dental care for pregnant women and doubling co-pays for prescriptions (Branstetter, 5/28).

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle: Xerox To Revamp NY's Medicaid System 
Xerox Corp. has been awarded a major contract to revamp the state's massive Medicaid management system, according to the state Department of Health. The document imaging giant is in line to receive the five-year contract worth an estimated $500 million, Health Department spokesman Bill Schwarz said Tuesday (Campbell and Daneman, 5/27). 

The Associated Press: Naturopaths Added To Washington State Medicaid Provider List 
Amanda Lewis and her husband use a naturopathic doctor, covered by their private insurance plan, as their primary care provider. But up until this year, Lewis had to pay $95 a visit for her young son because naturopaths in the Washington state weren't authorized to be part of the Medicaid plan under which he was covered. That out-of-pocket cost was reduced to zero after state officials moved to change the rules that had previously excluded naturopaths from the health insurance program for low-income patients (LaCorte, 5/28).