In an effort to recoup money paid in Medicaid services, Tennessee’s Medicaid program will increase its efforts to go after beneficiaries’ estates. (Kaiser Network)
As more retiring baby boomers start receiving Medicaid services, I suspect more states will follow Tennessee’s lead.
In other Medicaid news, a radio program called Marketplace Morning Report examined Missouri’s Medicaid program and found that it went from being one of the best in the country to one of the worse. Over 116,000 residents were disqualified from Medicaid coverage this past year. The state probably tried to save money when it disqualified families with existing health insurance that was affordable. Read the Kaiser Network report for more information.
Reimbursing providers in Connecticut for interpreting services could cost the state about $4.7 million a year, according to a study by the Connecticut Health Foundation. (Kaiser Network)
The report concludes that providers should be able to bill Medicaid directly for interpreting services instead of hiring part-time interpreters or using telephone interpreters. Why? Advocates say:
[S]uch arrangements can result in inaccurate or incomplete interpretations or lead patients to withhold information because they do not want to discuss sensitive subjects with the interpreter.
