Ohio seeking fed approval for more flexibility with Medicaid expansion

Greg Moody, Director of the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation (OHT), told lawmakers Thursday he hopes to bring them a revised Medicaid expansion plan in two or three weeks that would have more Ohioans buy coverage on the insurance exchange rather than enroll in Medicaid  (Source: “Moody Says Ohio Closer to Federal Deal on Medicaid Expansion Flexibility,” The Hannah Report, March 1, 2013)

When Gov. Kasich introduced his new budget Feb. 4, which including expanding Medicaid eligibility up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, he said Ohio officials had been in conversation with senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett about starting negotiations to allow more flexibility with how certain low-income Ohioans get coverage.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has garnered national attention this week after announcing his state has struck a deal with CMS to allow the state to use federal Medicaid dollars to buy private health insurance through an exchange (Source: “Arkansas’s unusual plan to expand Medicaid,” Washington Post Wonkblog, Feb. 28, 2013).