The Texas Tribune reports that state lawmakers gave HHSC approval to raise Medicaid premiums. An excerpt of an earlier story:
To contain growing Medicaid costs, Texas expanded Medicaid managed care statewide in March. HHSC estimates the premium rate increases would reduce the cost savings achieved by managed care over the previous fee-for-service model from 13.2 percent to 9.7 percent.
In response to the premium hike proposal, Dr. Michael Speer, president of the Texas Medical Association, said a number of the managed care plans have failed to keep their promise to save money and better coordinate care for Medicaid recipients.
In related news, public and private hospitals seek a compromise in disbursement of federal funding for uncompensated care. “Unless a fix is found, Wolterman said, public hospitals could claim all the federal dollars sent to hospitals for uncompensated care, even though private hospitals perform a larger percentage.” – Houston Chronicle