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Volume 1, No. 29, September 3, 2019

Nebraska Sued Over Slow Rollout of Medicaid Expansion
 
Last
November, voters in Nebraska approved a referendum that would expand Medicaid eligibility to individuals who earn incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. However, under a plan proposed by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, coverage of newly eligible individuals would not begin until October 2020. Advocates of the referendum in Nebraska have filed a lawsuit [ [link removed]
] , arguing that the delay in implementation violates the referendum, which requires the state to maximize federal funding used for the expansion. They noted that the federal government will pay 93% of expansion costs in 2019, but that number will drop to 90% in 2020. State officials, however, are arguing that if the implementation is not
done carefully, it may result in mistakes [ [link removed] ] . They have pointed out that federal approval of the expansion is still required, and implementation of the plan will take time.

Tennessee’s Transition to Block Grant for Medicaid Will Mean More State Control but Finite Funding for Program
 
Regular readers of the ADEA Advocate may recall that Tennessee is planning to submit a request to the federal government to receive its Medicaid funding in the form of a block grant. While this newsletter has covered the basics of a block grant and how it would differ from the way Medicaid is currently funded in states, the Tennessean [ [link removed] ] recently ran a story that goes more in depth regarding the changes that might occur under this type of funding.
 
In
the May 14 edition of ADEA Advocate, we provided an overview of this potentially significant change to Medicaid funding. “If the state’s proposal were to be approved, the state would be the first to receive Medicaid funding through a block grant, and the waiver would mark a fundamental shift in the way the state-federal partnership funds the program. Medicaid is currently an entitlement program, meaning anyone who qualifies can receive coverage
under the program and the cost of that coverage is split between the state and the federal government,” we stated in the May 14 issue. “Funding for the program is not fixed under this arrangement, and in Tennessee, the state currently covers [ [link removed] ] about 35% of the costs, while the federal government
covers just over 65%. By shifting to a block grant, the state would essentially be asking the federal government to place a cap on the amount of funds it receives. In exchange, the federal government would have fewer strings attached, and the state would receive increased flexibility in the way it administers the program.”

Surgeon General Issues Advisory on Marijuana Use
 
On Aug. 29, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Surgeon General of the United States Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., announced a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain [ [link removed] ] . In making the announcement, Dr. Adams stated that no amount of marijuana use in pregnancy or adolescence is safe.

Alaska Extends Medicaid Dental Benefits Through September
 
Adult Medicaid recipients in Alaska will have their dental benefits covered [ [link removed] ] through September. This move comes after Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) vetoed additional money for the program, with dentists being told that Medicaid funding would end July 1. This extension allows for patients who began treatment before July to finish their procedures before benefits terminate.

Quiet Week in Washington, Updates to Come
 
In the run up to the Labor Day weekend, last week was a quiet week in Washington, DC, with most taking time off before the traditional end of summer holiday. We can expect more activity with the return of U.S. Congress this week.

ADEA State Calendar [ [link removed] ]

ADEA Washington Calendar [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2019
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-7201, adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Ambika R. Srivastava, M.P.H.
ADEA/Sunstar Americas, Inc./Jack Bresch Legislative Intern
 
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected]?subject=State%20Update%3A%20 ]

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