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More than 4,200 organizations or individuals have commented on the proposed Medicaid rule. Many warn of hospital or nursing home closures and of the impacts of diminished Medicaid funding, including possible reductions in enrollment or services and an exodus of medical professionals willing to participate in it.By one estimate, the rule could reduce Medicaid spending by 6% to 8%, or $37 billion to $49 billion a year. (Ollove, 2/28)

States and Medicaid managed care organizations are experimenting with value-based payment models, but their policy choices come with difficult tradeoffs. Federal law gives states plenty of flexibility to encourage value-based payments in Medicaid managed care, but rolling out those payment reforms requires a lot of effort from states, according to new research presented by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's staff at a meeting on Thursday. (Brady, 2/27)

When Susan Peake moved to Austin from Denver in 2018, she traded one kind of safety net for another. In Colorado, she’d received state-funded health insurance coverage, which she credits with saving her from financial ruin after she suffered a heart attack requiring double-bypass surgery. In Texas, though she did not qualify for free health insurance, she had a room at her sister’s house, where she hoped to save some money while she recovered. But after a disagreement with her brother-in-law, things spiraled out of control for Peake, 52. She moved out of her sister’s house, she said, and began staying on friends’ couches. Before long, she was camping in parks and sleeping on bus stop benches. (Walters, 2/27)