Tag Archives: United States Department of Health and Human Services

Texas Loses Entire Women’s Health Program Over Planned Parenthood Law

Posted on by

Texas Loses Entire Women’s Health Program Over Planned Parenthood Law.

Rick Perry Womens Health

The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that it will cut off all Medicaid funding for family planning to the state of Texas, following Gov. Rick Perry‘s (R) decision to implement a new law that excludes Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid Women’s Health Program.

Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO), wrote Texas health officials a letter on Thursday explaining that the state broke federal Medicaid rules by discriminating against qualified family planning providers and thus would be losing the entire program, which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year.

“We very much regret the state’s decision to implement this rule, which will prevent women enrolled in the program from receiving services from the trusted health care providers they have chosen and relied upon for their care,” she wrote. “In light of Texas’ actions, CMS is not in a position to extend or renew the current [Medicaid contract].”

The federal government pays for nearly 90 percent of Texas’ $40 million Women’s Health Program, and nearly half of the program’s providers in Texas are Planned Parenthood clinics. But the new law that went into effect earlier this month disqualified Planned Parenthood from participating in the program because some of its clinics provide abortions, even though no state or federal money can be used to pay for those abortions.

According to Medicaid law, Mann said, a state cannot restrict women’s ability to choose a provider simply because that provider offers separate services — in this case, abortion — that aren’t even paid for by the Medicaid program.

Perry wrote a letter to President Obama earlier this month accusing his administration of “mandating which health providers the state of Texas must use” in order to “continue to support abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.” He vowed to continue the Women’s Health Program in Texas without Planned Parenthood and without federal money, although he has yet to outline how his state will come up with money.

But an HHS spokesperson told reporters on Thursday that this was not Obama’s decision and that the administration’s hands are tied on the issue. “Medicaid law is very clear; a state may not restrict patients’ choice of providers of services like mammograms and other cancer screenings, if those providers are qualified to deliver care covered by Medicaid. Patients, not state government officials, should be able to choose the doctors and other health care providers that are best for them and their families. In 2005, Texas requested this same authority to restrict patients’ choices, and the Bush Administration did not grant it to them either.”

Related articles
About these ads

about Wyomingstorygirl | wyomingstorygirl

Posted on by

about Wyomingstorygirl | wyomingstorygirl.

about Wyomingstorygirl

I like to be called “Wyoming” online but please call me Denise in real life.

I began January 1, 2012 choosing the opportunity to become more than a SAHM! Each day I strive to be a homemaker who cooks, cleans, gardens, and creates. I am a woman from Los Angeles who moved to Wyoming late in life, met my husband here, and “here” is were we’ve made our life for our 2 children, my Big Boy and Baby. My posts will share with you what I’ve done or trying to accomplish. Like many of you, my family too has overburdened itself with debt and now have a need to sacrifice to get out of debt.

I call my life the “My 365 Days Project”; each day will be a step closer to being debt free, and turning my love of DIY projects into the journey of a lifetime. I write about my life and my projects.

Stay tuned…I’m still learning!

Feds: Company excessively hiked rates on Wyoming customers

Posted on by

Feds: Company excessively hiked rates on Wyoming customers.

An Illinois company excessively raised the health insurance premiums of nearly 1,400 policyholders in Wyoming, federal officials announced Thursday.

Trustmark Life Insurance increased its small-group rates by nearly 12 percent last fall. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers it an unreasonable increase, said Gary Cohen of the Center of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

“We project it will result in too little money going to actual health care as contrasted to administrative costs, marketing and profit,” he said.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the health reform law passed by Congress in 2010, insurers must file an explanation when they plan to raise rates by 10 percent or more. Many states review those notices. For states that don’t, like Wyoming, the federal government handles the task.

Trustmark’s rate hike was the first in Wyoming to receive an “unreasonable” designation from the Department of Health and Human Services. With the increase, analysts concluded the company would spend 63 to 65 cents of every dollar on medical care. That spending ratio should be at 80 cents, Cohen said.

In a statement, Trustmark officials said they respectfully disagreed with the department’s conclusions.

“Our premiums are driven by the rising cost and increased utilization of medical services,” they said. “As a small carrier, our loss ratios can vary significantly from year to year, and we take that volatility into consideration.”

The company said it’s been complying with the Affordable Care Act, including the medical loss ratio rule that specifies 80 percent of insurance premiums should go to medical costs.

“If there are instances where we do not reach the required loss ratio under the federal regulations, we will, promptly and in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, rebate the difference to those customers,” the company said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called on the company to rescind its rate increases. However, the Affordable Care Act doesn’t grant the federal government the authority to reject a rate hike it deems unreasonable.

The state of Wyoming also lacks the power to overturn the increase. Lawmakers here have decided that a competitive market, rather than the government, should regulate rates, said Wyoming Insurance Commissioner Ken Vines.

The state can get involved in markets without competition, but that situation doesn’t apply to health insurance.

“We don’t really have the authority to review rates in Wyoming,” Vines said.

Even if Wyoming can’t stop the Trustmark rate increase, the “unreasonable” label still provides consumers information they can use when choosing coverage, Cohen said.

“We think it is very important to provide that kind of transparency and accountability,” he said.

Thirty-seven states have the authority to reject unreasonable insurance rate increases. The federal government offered grants to help states strengthen their authority for reviewing rates. Wyoming did not apply.

The average family health insurance premium in Wyoming rose by 49 percent between 2003 and 2009, according to figures from the Commonwealth Fund. Single premiums increased by 27 percent over that period.