Transcript Highlights:

• </c> reform or their respective design. reform or their respective design.
• </c><02:28:46.000><c> That's</c> treatment, and Medicaid. That's treatment, and Medicaid.
• </c> Republican budget from cutting Medicaid Republican budget from cutting Medicaid or<02:33:46.800>
• Without objection. reform or their respective design. The reform or their respective design.
• </c> right to eliminate or to cut Medicaid. right to eliminate or to cut Medicaid.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The first is Medicaid improper payments.
• If you're not entitled to Medicaid benefits, you should not be on Medicaid.
• Process reform is essential.
• I would say that we should start with process reform. Fix the process.
• or the Center for Medicaid and CHIP services.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, waste reduction, fraud prevention, government efficiency, improper payments, data reliability, oversight

Summary: The meeting was chaired by Chairman Schweikert and involved a comprehensive discussion on how to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) for reducing waste, fraud, and improper payments within federal programs. Key witnesses, including Mr. Andrew Canarsa from the Council of the Inspectors General, provided insights on the potential of AI in enhancing government efficiency. The committee emphasized the importance of reliable data and thorough examination of AI application to avoid unintended consequences while addressing the estimated $162 billion in improper payments reported by the federal government. Concerns were raised regarding the recent firing of inspectors general and the impacts that could have on oversight and accountability processes.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 1231 by Representative Barretted, Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and coverage for continuous
• adjustments, additional spending authority, aligning funding for the required state match within the Medicaid
• recent DOE student count, various reductions of excess authority, and an alignment to the March Medicaid
• recent DOE student count, various reductions of excess authority, and an alignment to the March Medicaid
• HCR 3 is the annual resolution to help fund the hospital reimbursements in Medicaid.

Bills: HR159, HR160, HR161, HR162, HR163, HR164, HCR60, HCR61, HCR62, HCR63, HCR64, HR153, HR154, HR155, HR156, HR157, HR158, HCR57, HCR58, HCR59, SB124, SB399, SB441, SB447, SB460, HCR4, HCR47, HB59, HB74, HB159, HB175, HB330, HB364, HB414, HB458, HB525, HB568, HB628, HB786, HB909, HB1008, HB1033, HB1034, HB1041, HB1052, HB1062, HB1070, HB1079, HB1112, HB1118, HB1139, HB1151, HB1154, HB1176, HB1182, HB1196, HB1214, HB1231, HB1241, SB244, HB1, HB2, HB3, HB312, HB313, HB383, HB314, HCR3, HB983, HB1126, HR1, HR17, HCR5, HB27, HB71, HB214, HB225, HB241, HB244, HB306, HB345, HB366, HB446, HB511, HB514, HB655, HB730, HB743, HB1027, HB1037, HB1043, HB1082, HB1091, HB1096, HB1103, HB1167, HB1174, HB1175, HB1230, HB1237, HB1238, HB55, HB385, HB394, HB396, HB406, HB608, HB622, HB676, HB772, HB897, HB1030, HB1035, HB1038, HB1045, HB1049, HB1056, HB1058, HB1059, HB1092, HB1100, HB1117, HB1160, HB1161, HB1162, HB1177, HB1180, HB1189, HB1216, HB1239, HB1240, SB162, SB349, SB350, SB382, SB383, SB127, HB51, HB58, HB140, HB750, HB911, HB982, HB1010, HB151, HB180, HB192, HB193, HB310, HB635, HB690, HB961, HB1003, HB1146, HB864, HB977, HB181, HB31, HB664, HB615, HB901, HR20, HR74, HB9, HB284, HB393, HB459, HB577, HB582, HB605, HB614, HB682, HB733, HB773, HB996, HB1113, HB1234, HB1236

Keywords: occupational therapy, healthcare, medical professionals, recognition, professional day, property transfer, public records doctrine, bad faith, Louisiana State Law Institute, real estate law, Black Maternal Health Week, maternal health, racial disparities, healthcare access, culturally competent care, Louisiana, community health, motorcycle safety, awareness month, motorcyclists education

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and received Senate messages, including several Senate bills and resolutions that were referred or laid over. The chamber also adopted a series of House resolutions honoring local organizations, commemorations, and community events, and referred one resolution on climate action to Natural Resources. Several Senate bills were read and referred to the appropriate committees, including measures on peer review confidentiality, higher education research security, pre-K program standards, police civil service, and a memorial highway designation. The main floor business was the budget. The House considered House Bill 1, the general appropriations bill, in Committee of the Whole and reviewed major funding levels and committee changes across state government. The bill included significant funding for early childhood education, higher education, TOPS, health care, corrections, public safety, transportation, and other agencies, along with adjustments tied to LASERS debt payoff, Medicaid, MFP, and various one-time or recurring items. Members heard brief questions on higher education funding and DOTD road needs, but no amendments were offered on the floor during the schedule-by-schedule review. HB 1 was reported from Committee of the Whole with amendments and then finally passed by a vote of 104 yeas. The House then took up House Bills 2 and 3, the capital outlay bill and the omnibus bond authorization act, both of which were explained as the financing measures for the capital program. HB 2 emphasized limited member project funding, reallocation of dormant projects, and bundling of projects to move them forward more efficiently; HB 3 authorized the bond sales needed to fund HB 2. Both bills passed unanimously or near-unanimously. The chamber also passed supplemental and fiscal bills including HB 312, HB 313, HB 383, HB 314, HCR 3, HB 983, and HB 1126, covering supplemental appropriations, treasury fund transfers, ancillary funds, hospital assessments, judiciary funding, and legislative expenses. The meeting ended with personal privileges, staff recognition, announcements, and adjournment to Monday at 1:00 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 1231 by Representative Boral, Medicaid coverage for pregnant women, coverage for continuous
• adjustments, additional spending authority, aligning funding for the required state match within the Medicaid
• recent DOE student count, various reductions of excess authority, and an alignment to the March Medicaid
• recent DOE student count, various reductions of excess authority, and an alignment to the March Medicaid
• HCR 3 is the annual resolution to help fund the hospital reimbursements in Medicaid.

Bills: HR159, HR160, HR161, HR162, HR163, HR164, HCR60, HCR61, HCR62, HCR63, HCR64, HR153, HR154, HR155, HR156, HR157, HR158, HCR57, HCR58, HCR59, SB124, SB399, SB441, SB447, SB460, HCR4, HCR47, HB59, HB74, HB159, HB175, HB330, HB364, HB414, HB458, HB525, HB568, HB628, HB786, HB909, HB1008, HB1033, HB1034, HB1041, HB1052, HB1062, HB1070, HB1079, HB1112, HB1118, HB1139, HB1151, HB1154, HB1176, HB1182, HB1196, HB1214, HB1231, HB1241, SB244, HB1, HB2, HB3, HB312, HB313, HB383, HB314, HCR3, HB983, HB1126, HR1, HR17, HCR5, HB27, HB71, HB214, HB225, HB241, HB244, HB306, HB345, HB366, HB446, HB511, HB514, HB655, HB730, HB743, HB1027, HB1037, HB1043, HB1082, HB1091, HB1096, HB1103, HB1167, HB1174, HB1175, HB1230, HB1237, HB1238, HB55, HB385, HB394, HB396, HB406, HB608, HB622, HB676, HB772, HB897, HB1030, HB1035, HB1038, HB1045, HB1049, HB1056, HB1058, HB1059, HB1092, HB1100, HB1117, HB1160, HB1161, HB1162, HB1177, HB1180, HB1189, HB1216, HB1239, HB1240, SB162, SB349, SB350, SB382, SB383, SB127, HB51, HB58, HB140, HB750, HB911, HB982, HB1010, HB151, HB180, HB192, HB193, HB310, HB635, HB690, HB961, HB1003, HB1146, HB864, HB977, HB181, HB31, HB664, HB615, HB901, HR20, HR74, HB9, HB284, HB393, HB459, HB577, HB582, HB605, HB614, HB682, HB733, HB773, HB996, HB1113, HB1234, HB1236

Keywords: occupational therapy, healthcare, medical professionals, recognition, professional day, property transfer, public records doctrine, bad faith, Louisiana State Law Institute, real estate law, Black Maternal Health Week, maternal health, racial disparities, healthcare access, culturally competent care, Louisiana, community health, motorcycle safety, awareness month, motorcyclists education

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to point out one more time that in the Medicaid reform, people with substance use disorder and
• I want to point out one more time that in the Medicaid reform, people with substance use disorder and
• I want to point out one more time that in the Medicaid reform, people with substance use disorder and
• I want to point out one more time that in the Medicaid reform, people with substance use disorder and
• And it Medicaid reform, people with substance use disorder and mental health issues are exempted from

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That often creates a barrier to reform and an organizational and program culture.
• Governor Leavitt reacts to that audit and says, I want to reform these...
• Governor Leavitt reacts to that audit and says, I want to reform these programs.
• and create the welfare reform movement of the 1990s.
• That's why we have the 1996 reform.

Summary: The committee met to hear an update from consultants Mason Bishop and Cameron Christie on Arkansas’s “one door” or “no wrong door” workforce and social services modernization effort. The discussion focused on moving the state toward a work-first system that better connects job seekers, employers, education, and public assistance programs, with goals of increasing upward mobility, improving labor force attachment, reducing inefficiencies, and adapting to changes such as AI and other economic disruptions. The consultants argued that Arkansas’s current system is fragmented across multiple offices, portals, agencies, and funding streams, and that people often have to navigate separate doors for workforce services, TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and related supports. Bishop repeatedly pointed to Utah as the model, describing how that state integrated workforce and human services into a single department, used cost allocation to blend funding behind the scenes, and saw improved customer service and outcomes after reform. He said TANF should be treated as a workforce program, not just a benefits program, and suggested that Arkansas could use TANF and other tools to cross-train DHS staff, co-locate services, and create a more unified service delivery model. Members asked about federal flexibility, waivers, and whether the state could use one large waiver or a broader restructuring to simplify the system. Bishop explained that a federal pilot authority proposal failed in Congress, so the current approach relies on waivers, cost allocation plans, and possible state-level changes. The committee also discussed the relationship between DHS and workforce offices, the role of local workforce boards, how disability and vocational rehabilitation cases would be handled, and how the governor’s Restore Hope/Hope Hub and faith- and community-based initiatives might fit into the broader plan. Bishop said Arkansas already has rehabilitation services within the workforce department and emphasized that case managers should focus on people rather than programs. No votes were taken. The chair said the committee would revisit case management at its August meeting and adjourned the meeting after thanking the consultants.

Bills: SCR56, SCR79, SCR85, SCR120, SCR129, SCR181, SCR63, SCR112, SCR194, SCR195, SCR196, HB202, HB963, HB1050, HB1511, HB1546, HB1550, HB1553, HB1643, HB1656, HB1658, HB1664, HB1667, HB1682, HB1700, HB1721, HB1810, HB1823, HB1824, HB1878, HB1969, HB2005, HB2078, HB2152, HB2246, HB2270, HB2279, HB2289, HB2385, HB2417, HB2429, HB2503, HB2599, SB253, SB847, SB1142, SB1432, SB2043, SB2050, SB2074, SB2102, SB2135, SB2138, SB2140, SB2320, SB2340, SB2386, SB2396, SB2397, SB2398, SB2433, SB2446, SB2521, SB2544, SB2567, SB2578, SB2580, SB2595, SB2601, SB2645, SB2673, SB2706, SB2727, SB2802, SB2852, SB2892, SB2929, SB2972, SB3007, SB3069, SB3073, SB3076, SB3136, SB3138, SB3157, SB3204, SB3234, SB3247, SB3302, SB3324, SB3325, HB1815, HB2592, HCR32

Keywords: lifeguards, first responders, public safety, ocean safety, emergency response, community wellbeing, invasive species, octocoral, Pearl Harbor, environment, Navy responsibility, marine ecosystem, ecosystem preservation, shoreline maintenance, civil service, classification review, compensation systems, labor shortage, employee retention, department collaboration

Transcript Highlights:

• You are a Medicaid beneficiary because Medicaid benefits all of us.
• Cut Medicaid are a Medicaid beneficiary.
• </c> to lifesaving programs like Medicaid. to lifesaving programs like Medicaid.
• Protect Medicaid. came here to ask them. Protect Medicaid.
• ,</c><04:22:43.439><c> makes</c> Reform Act, which reforms LEOSA, makes Reform Act, which reforms LEOSA

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Today I'm presenting Senate Bill 306, Medicaid providers.
• We don't want them to lose their Medicaid coverage because they are actually doing the nursing care for
• It also requires AHCA to develop a comprehensive plan to redesign the Medicaid model waiver.
• Another key reform was data-driven policy and workforce development.
• Another key reform was data-driven policy and workforce development.

Summary: The committee met to consider a large agenda of health and human services bills, moving quickly because of a two-hour time limit. Early measures reported favorably included SB 976 on challenges to court-appointed psychologists in family law cases, SB 306 on Medicaid provider network access and after-hours availability, and SB 584 on housing supports for college students and youth in extended foster care. SB 1412 on home health regulation modernization also passed, with one support appearance from the Home Care Association. Members then approved several bills focused on research and care delivery, including SB 1800 creating a Parkinson’s disease research consortium at USF with an adopted amendment adding academic medical centers, SB 524 adding Duchenne muscular dystrophy to newborn screening, SB 1156 revising a Medicaid home health aide program for medically fragile children, and SB 1490 transferring and redesigning the managed care program for critically ill children. SB 1174 on foster home licensure transfers, SB 1620 implementing mental health and substance use commission recommendations, SB 1568 revising e-prescribing exemptions, and SB 788 on veterans nursing home beds were also reported favorably. The committee had more extensive debate on SB 1270, the Department of Health agency package, which included provisions on vaccination status, medical marijuana background screening, licensing and compact issues, and sovereign immunity for volunteer dental workers; it passed after an amendment and several members voiced concerns about patient treatment and “voting power” language. SB 1606 on patient access to records drew strong opposition from providers and health information professionals over privacy, HIPAA, and administrative burdens; it was initially reported unfavorably, then reconsidered and ultimately passed after a motion to reconsider. Other bills reported favorably included SB 1736 on insulin administration by direct support professionals and relatives, SB 1808 on patient refunds from providers, SB 1842 on referral disclosure of network status, SB 1354 on behavioral health managing entity oversight, SB 1768 on stem cell therapies with informed consent requirements, and SPB 7032 on presumptive Medicaid eligibility for permanently disabled individuals, which was submitted and reported as a committee bill. The meeting ended after all agenda items were handled and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Medicaid is not being fully utilized to provide services to young people.
• Senate Bill 88, which creates a new Medicaid trust fund.
• These are two smaller reforms that address medical costs.
• We use that for Medicaid patients.
• Here in New Mexico, with the highest Medicaid population in the country and low Medicaid rates, those

Transcript Highlights:

• Cuts to that were not included, despite the other vast cuts to Medicaid.
• program. and I funding within our health care space, within our Medicaid program.
• It's how many, or most, states have expanded Medicaid and other adoptions.
• And in the early 1980s, it was reformed to go to this fee-for-service system.
• And in the early 1980s, it was reformed to go to this fee-for-service system.

Summary: The joint informational hearing focused on the cost of uncertainty in California health care, especially the effects of federal policy changes on coverage, access, and affordability. Opening remarks from committee leaders and members emphasized that California’s uninsured rate had fallen to historic lows under the Affordable Care Act and state policies, but that the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies, H.R. 1, and other federal regulatory changes could reverse those gains. Members repeatedly cited rising premiums, skipped care, medical debt, and the strain on low-wage workers, families, clinics, hospitals, and public programs. The first panel reviewed the federal landscape and state response. A federal policy analyst described the ACA’s coverage gains and consumer protections, then outlined current threats: H.R. 1’s Medicaid and marketplace cuts, the end of enhanced premium tax credits, shorter open enrollment, more verification requirements, and changes affecting preventive services and vaccines. Covered California reported that the loss of subsidies is expected to nearly double average monthly premiums, reduce enrollment, and push more consumers into bronze plans with higher deductibles; it also noted that California’s $190 million affordability fund is helping the lowest-income enrollees. HCAI’s Office of Health Care Affordability explained its work on spending targets, market consolidation review, and primary care investment, saying the goal is to slow spending growth rather than impose price caps. Committee members pressed witnesses on the practical effects of bronze plans, administrative burdens, immigration-related disenrollment, provider taxes, uncompensated care, and whether California can sustain current coverage levels without new revenue. Witnesses said bronze plans preserve essential benefits but shift more costs to consumers, and that H.R. 1’s verification and auto-renewal changes will likely reduce enrollment. They also said provider tax reductions could significantly weaken state financing over time, and that higher uninsured rates may increase uncompensated care and pressure premiums elsewhere in the system. The second panel, featuring UC Berkeley Labor Center and California Health Care Foundation experts, highlighted broader affordability problems across job-based coverage and Medi-Cal, citing medical debt, skipped care, and the role of underlying system costs, administrative waste, and lack of competition. They pointed to medical debt relief efforts such as Los Angeles County’s program as a short-term mitigation strategy while the Legislature considers longer-term policy and budget responses.

Transcript Highlights:

• Cuts to that were not included, despite the other vast cuts to Medicaid.
• program. and I funding within our health care space, within our Medicaid program.
• It's how many, or most, states have expanded Medicaid and other adoptions.
• What message we gave to Congress is that there are four important pillars to reform.
• In the early 1980s, it was reformed to go to this fee-for-service system.

Summary: The joint informational hearing of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees focused on the cost of federal instability for California health coverage, access, and affordability. Opening remarks from members of both houses emphasized that California’s coverage gains under the Affordable Care Act are now threatened by federal policy changes, including the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, H.R. 1, and new federal regulatory actions. Members repeatedly cited rising premiums, skipped care, medical debt, and the risk that low-income, immigrant, and working Californians could lose coverage or be pushed into less comprehensive plans. The first panel reviewed the federal landscape and state response. Don Joyce described the ACA’s coverage expansions and warned that H.R. 1, regulatory changes, and broader federal retrenchment could reduce coverage and weaken meaningful benefits. Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman said the loss of enhanced premium tax credits is driving major affordability problems, with average monthly premiums projected to rise sharply and enrollment already down, especially among middle-income consumers. HCAI’s Elizabeth Lansberg explained the Office of Health Care Affordability’s role in slowing spending growth, monitoring consolidation, and setting spending targets, including lower targets for high-cost hospitals and new primary care investment goals. Members asked about bronze plans, high-cost hospitals, administrative burdens, provider taxes, and whether federal advisory changes could affect required benefits such as immunizations. The second panel examined population impacts and cost drivers. UC Berkeley Labor Center’s Miranda Dietz said most Californians get coverage through employers, Medi-Cal, or Covered California, and that affordability problems are widespread across all groups. She projected that California could have up to 2 million more uninsured residents by 2030, largely from Medi-Cal losses, and said higher premiums reduce wages and increase medical debt. Christoph Stremakis of the California Health Care Foundation highlighted survey data showing widespread concern about medical bills, skipped care, and medical debt, and argued that a large share of spending is wasted through administrative complexity, inflated prices, and underinvestment in prevention. Committee members pressed the panel on whether California can sustain coverage without new revenue, how cost-growth targets affect workers and families, how medical debt relief programs like Los Angeles County’s could be expanded, and how OCA can address uncompensated care, consolidation, and prior authorization burdens.

Transcript Highlights:

• That often creates a barrier to reform and an organizational and program culture.
• And also, Utah has the lowest number of constituents per capita on Medicaid and on SNAP.
• Governor Leavitt reacts to that audit and says, I want to reform these programs.
• and create the welfare reform movement of the 1990s.
• That's why we have the 1996 reform.

Summary: The committee met to hear consultants Mason Bishop and Cameron Christie discuss Arkansas’s “one door/no wrong door” workforce and social services modernization effort. Bishop argued that the current system is fragmented across multiple agencies, offices, and portals, making it hard for job seekers and employers to access services efficiently. He said the goal is to create a more integrated system that promotes upward mobility, longer labor force attachment, better employer access to talent, greater efficiency, and faster adaptation to changes such as AI and other economic disruptions. Bishop repeatedly pointed to Utah as a model, describing how that state combined workforce and public assistance functions into a single agency, used statewide cost allocation to blend funding streams, and improved customer service and outcomes after reform. He said Arkansas should consider integrating governance, service delivery, and financing, including possible waivers, a statewide cost allocation plan, and a benefits-cliff pilot. He also said Arkansas’s current local workforce board structure creates duplication and weak coordination, and that Launch is a useful tool but not a full service-delivery system. Committee members asked how the proposal would work in practice, including whether TANF could be used to cross-train DHS workers, how federal waivers might be obtained, how local boards would be affected, and how disabled clients would be handled. Bishop said TANF should be treated as part of a workforce strategy, that federal pilot authority for workforce reform nearly passed but did not, and that waivers are now the practical path. He also said Arkansas could either merge functions more fully or at minimum co-locate workforce staff in DHS offices statewide. No votes were taken; the meeting ended with plans to continue the discussion in August, including a focus on case management and whether the state is managing programs or people.

Transcript Highlights:

• This would restructure the reimbursements so that the schools could actually get reimbursed for Medicaid
• An act to amend the Cannabis Law in relation to certain medical cannabis reforms.
• Is rate reform? Salute. Rate reform. No, it's fine. You got it. You got to sneeze.
• It is rate reform for federally qualified health centers around the state.
• An act to amend the Public Health Law in relation to the functions of the Medicaid Inspector General

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on Health considered a series of health-related bills, many of which were reported favorably. Among the measures approved were SB 999, which would restructure Medicaid reimbursement for early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment services for children with IEPs or disabilities; SB 1816, lowering the state definition of elevated blood lead levels to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter; SB 1911A, extending due process protections for health care professionals when insurers terminate or fail to renew them; and SB 3105, allowing reciprocity for out-of-state medical cannabis patients. The committee also advanced SB 4589 on federally qualified health center rate adequacy, SB 4955B on Medicaid Inspector General audit procedures, SB 9196 to ban new for-profit hospices, SB 9237 expanding the definition of family for certain foster care health facility services, and SB 9275 requiring Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care and prohibiting related discrimination. Several of these bills were sent to Finance, while others were sent to First Reading or Higher Education as noted. The committee also discussed SB 2625, which would expand pharmacists’ authority to prescribe, administer, and dispense medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. One member raised concerns about expanding scope of practice without coordination with primary care or a holistic review of patient conditions, and indicated opposition; the bill was nevertheless referred to Higher Education. SB 5056B, requiring the Department of Health to examine heat vulnerability and heat-related deaths, prompted discussion about whether the bill should explicitly require recommendations for prevention; the sponsor said the idea was to gather data and that recommendations could be added, and the bill advanced with some reservations. Other measures included SB 7460, reauthorizing a maternal infant care centers pilot program using an existing $350,000 appropriation, and SB 9388, requiring public notice and engagement when a general hospital closes or shuts down a psychiatric, mental health, or substance use unit. The hospital closure bill drew discussion about relocations and whether moves that shift services to a new site would trigger the community engagement process; the sponsor said they would. Most bills were approved by voice vote, with some members voting no or without recommendation on certain measures, and the committee adjourned after reporting the bills onward.

Transcript Highlights:

• I do reform from within.
• I do reform from within.
• I do reform from within.
• versus a Medicaid beneficiary versus a non-medicaid non-medicaid non-medicaid beneficiary<02:09:59.280
• </c><02:15:54.800><c> um</c> non-medicaid kids and Medicaid kids um non-medicaid kids and Medicaid kids

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the Chief Medicaid and CHIP Services Officer and State Medicaid Director.
• as our Medicaid Waivers.
• An important thing to know about Medicaid...
• Medicaid is an entitlement program, meaning that everybody who is eligible in a state for Medicaid...
• They are approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is the federal Medicaid agency

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What percentage of the federal revenue comes from programs like Medicaid? Medicaid? Um, Mr.
• We, um, Really don't get Medicaid money yet and I'll, I'll explain why.
• At the same time, if you were to become more reliant on Medicaid, what happens if we lose those Medicaid
• Um, juvenile justice is a place where we need reform, and I don't mean longer sentences there.
• I mean, we do need reform from the very bottom of the, of the crime.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill includes them all, with the exception of Medicaid.
• Medicaid reimbursement issue.
• We talked a little bit briefly about tort reform.
• , since a million New Mexicans are on Medicaid.
• It's on Section 3, and we're talking about Medicaid reimbursements. Where should no Medicaid be?

Transcript Highlights:

• Next item on the agenda is RS 33180, the Prior Authorization Reform Act.
• Medicaid expansion should be cautiously looked at.
• Those are the folks that really Medicaid was set up for.
• Many of us have met with the director of Medicaid.
• Many of us have met with the director of Medicaid.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The House Health and Welfare Committee approved the February 2, 2026 minutes and then introduced RS 33180, the Idaho Prior Authorization Reform Act. Representative Josh Wheeler said the proposal would require insurers to disclose prior authorization rules and criteria, use standardized electronic processes, set decision timelines, ensure appeals are reviewed by appropriately licensed specialists, and protect patients from retroactive denials after approval. Members raised questions about whether the bill would increase administrative burden and whether its physician language could unintentionally exclude advanced practice providers; Wheeler said the intent was to ensure the right specialty reviews the request and that the language may need adjustment. The committee then held an extended discussion on Health and Welfare budget options ahead of JFAC. Members floated a wide range of ideas, including reducing or trimming optional Medicaid services such as adult vision, hearing, chiropractic, and podiatry; using state reserves to soften cuts; tightening Medicaid expansion eligibility or repealing expansion; renegotiating contracts; and increasing audits and fraud, waste, and abuse reviews. Several members argued that cuts should not fall on disability, home- and community-based, or RESHAB services, while others said those programs should be reviewed for overutilization and more precise eligibility tools. There was also discussion of provider reimbursement rates, with some members opposing the 4% reduction and others saying it could be reduced if offset by smaller cuts elsewhere. Members also debated department efficiency and administrative costs, including Medicaid re-evaluations, prior authorization processing, staffing levels, and the possibility of delaying or restructuring large contracts. Representative Kaler raised concerns about Youth Safety and Permanency, suggesting possible savings from repealing the extended foster care age increase, reducing full-time positions, and adjusting employee benefit costs. Representative Healy emphasized that therapy prior authorizations are common in private insurance and said the department should improve timeliness rather than eliminate the practice. The meeting ended with the chair saying Health and Welfare would present its budget the next day and that members could send additional ideas and numbers before then.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Tyler Sadwick, the Medicaid Director.
• to non-Medicaid units.
• I know not under DHCS, just. ...here with rate reforms in Sub 3.
• Oregon has set up an advisory group to suggest how to fund Medicaid.
• Oregon has set up an advisory group to suggest how to fund Medicaid.

Keywords: 987, senate, all