Category: Medicaid

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon to Pay Nearly $24 Million to Settle Allegations

LOS ANGELES—A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, his son, medical practices and billing company have agreed to pay $23.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated federal law by submitting or causing the submission of false claims to both Medicare and Medicaid, officials announced April 28. The settlement resolves allegations that Dr. Joel Aronowitz, Daniel Aronowitz,…


Whistleblowers Tell Supreme Court Pharmacy Chains Should Pay for Alleged Fraud

The Supreme Court seemed open on April 18 to revive whistleblower lawsuits against pharmacy operators SuperValu and Safeway for allegedly submitting false Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims for prescription drugs they sold. The case is considered to be important because it could have an impact on the government’s ability to crack down on health care fraud. The…


Millions of Americans to Be Removed From Medicaid Rolls as COVID Emergency Ends

Starting in April, millions of Americans who are enrolled in Medicaid despite being ineligible will be removed from the program with the ending of the federal government’s COVID-19 national emergency. The national emergency declaration, signed into to law by former President Donald Trump in March 2020, allowed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…


North Carolina Expands Medicaid to 600,000 Individuals

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a law on Monday to expand Medicaid eligibility to over half a million people whose higher level of income disqualifies them from traditional coverage. Cooper, who has emphasized the need to address this issue since he was first elected in 2016, signed the “Access to Healthcare Options” bill into law…


15 Million Americans Could Lose Medicaid Coverage Soon, Group Warns

About 15 million people could lose their Medicaid coverage in the next year as states start to determine whether some individuals are eligible after a provision under the federal COVID-19 public health emergency is slated to expire in May. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey and analysis, some 18 percent of Medicaid recipients, or…


Nursing Home Residents Urge Texas Lawmakers to Raise Medicaid Allowance

During a hearing with the Texas Human Services Committee this week, nursing home residents urged lawmakers to pass a bill to increase the Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance (PNA). Democrat state Rep. Senfronia Thompson introduced HB 54, which would raise the PNA from $60 to $85 monthly if passed. (pdf) PNA is the income nursing home…


North Carolina Legislators Reach Agreement on Medicaid Expansion

North Carolina legislative leaders reached an agreement on March 2 to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The deal, which marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers—many of whom had until recently been opposed to the idea—will likely pass through North Carolina’s General Assembly, according to House…


Supreme Court Not Receptive to Biden DOJ’s Arguments About Reach of Identity Theft Law

The Supreme Court seemed unreceptive to the Biden administration’s arguments on Feb. 27 that a Texas man convicted of Medicaid fraud should also be convicted of aggravated identity theft arising out of the same transaction because a form he filed contained a patient’s name. Several justices expressed concern that the government wants to interpret the…


County Legislature Calls for Continued Local Sharing of Federal Medicaid Dollars

The legislature of Orange County, New York, called on the state government to continue the local sharing of enhanced federal Medicaid dollars under the Affordable Care Act in a Feb. 15 resolution. The resolution came in response to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to end the longstanding practice in the fiscal year 2024 and use the…


Biden Administration Allowing States to Spend Medicaid Money on Food, Housing

The Biden administration has started to grant states’ requests to utilize Medicaid funding to pay for nonmedical but health-related needs like groceries and housing support in order to decrease the need for medical intervention. In October last year, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a section 1115 demonstration initiative (pdf) for Arizona, allowing the state to use…