Chop. Cook. Blend. Eat.
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Chop. Cook. Blend. Eat.
This month's cartoon shows how food is always a gathering point.
On the second Sunday of every month, we feature Where is the Manual for This?!, an editorial cartoon about the medical mom life from Lenore Eklund.
Editor’s note: It was a slow news week this week and — like much of the policymaking world, it seems — I’m on vacation. The podcast and TikTok versions will be back next week but scroll down for the written news roundup.
Medical Motherhood’s news round up
Snippets of news and opinion from outlets around the world. Click the links for the full story.
• From Politico: “Biden administration warns states as millions lose Medicaid”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is ramping up pressure on states that may be failing to meet federal requirements as they renew Medicaid coverage for millions of people for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
The agency has for months been mum about its behind-the-scenes communications with states, but on Wednesday made public letters it sent to state Medicaid officials warning that they may be running afoul of federal law and regulations. The letters, which were sent to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., identified three key areas of concern: high rates of people losing Medicaid because of paperwork problems, long call center wait times and slow application processing.
Thirty-six states were flagged as falling short on at least one of the criteria, including five — Alaska, Florida, Montana, New Mexico and Rhode Island — that fell short on all three.
[…]CMS’ decision to make the letters available online represents a sharp about-face for an agency that has refused for months to single out any state it believes may be violating federal law — or even name specific criteria that would trigger stronger action against states — for fear of damaging its relationships with them.
“It looks like this is certainly part of the paper trail to move to more explicit and hopefully rigorous enforcement activities,” said Joan Alker, executive director and co-founder of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “It’s a positive sign that CMS is becoming more transparent about their enforcement activities.”[…]
• From Effingham Radio (Illinois): “McClure Legislation Signed Into Law Protecting Parental Rights”
If a parent has to consent for their child to receive a medical procedure or test, then they should be able to access the resulting records and results. That’s the idea behind legislation filed by State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) and sponsored by Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer. That legislation has now been signed into law.
“Parents shouldn’t need to go to court just to get access to records from medical services that they had to consent to be performed in the first place,” said Senator McClure. “This is a particularly important issue for the parents of special needs children, and I’m glad we were able to get this passed into law.”
Under prior Illinois law, parents have access to medical records for children under the age of 12. However, they may be denied access to records and test results for children 12 -17 years of age, even if the records are from tests and/or procedures that required parental consent to be performed. Once the child turns 18, if they are declared a developmentally disabled adult, parents can once again get access.
McClure’s legislation, Senate Bill 188, closes the loophole for special needs children aged 12 – 17.[…]
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