Idaho to cut Medicaid provider rates by 4% in September
Idaho’s health care providers accepting Medicaid are about to take a hit to their wallets as state officials will cut reimbursement rates effective next month due to higher than anticipated costs.
In a memo sent to providers last week, Deputy Medicaid Director Juliet Charron said reimbursements will be slashed by 4% across the board.
“Healthcare expenses nationally continue to outpace inflation, and Medicaid is no exception,” Charron wrote.
Charron says new forecasts expect costs to balloon 19% above last year’s budget. The current Medicaid budget approved by state lawmakers factored in an 8% uptick.
“Medicaid is reviewing its operating expenditures and contracts to identify potential internal savings and will take appropriate actions,” she said.
But the vast majority of the Medicaid budget goes to provider payments and that this size of an unexpected cost increase cannot be covered by cutting internal services, according to Charron.
“While we continue to monitor budget needs, it is clear that waiting until the legislative session to make changes could have yielded steeper rate changes and service reductions.”
The news comes shortly after Gov. Brad Little ordered all executive branch agencies to cut their current year budgets by 3% excluding K-12 education.
The lower than expected tax revenue largely fell in the personal and corporate income tax collections, with state lawmakers this year including lower rates among their $450 million tax cut package.
Payments to tribal providers accepting Medicaid will not be affected.
Spokane River sees dry spots as drought conditions spread around NW
Areas of the Spokane River near Spokane Valley are completely dry.
The nonprofit Spokane Riverkeeper says this could be the lowest the river has been in recent memory.
The organization is asking people in the region to skip watering their lawns and use only the water they need, especially during hot summer months.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says dry conditions are prevalent across the Northwest this summer.
"Basically, this summer has been really dry," Oregon State Climatologist Larry O'Neill said during a bimonthly briefing by NOAA on drought conditions. "We've seen a lot of increases in drought severity and extent."
According to NOAA data, about half of the region was in some form of drought as of late June. Now, it’s about 80%.
Researchers say low stream flows can threaten fish, cause harmful algal blooms in some rivers and increase wildfire risk.
According to O'Neill, in Washington, Idaho and Oregon most stream flow gauges have been below normal for the last 45 days.
"The worst state is in Washington, where going into that atmospheric river event in the middle of August, about 75% of the stream flow gauges were below normal, and 10% of the stream flow gauges were at record lows for those days," he said.
Forecasters are currently predicting a wetter La Niña winter, but O'Neill says it would need to bring much more precipitation than usual to provide significant relief.
Chronic wasting disease prompts hunting rule changes
Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Department says the presence of chronic wasting disease in wild animals in the eastern part of the state means some rule changes for hunting.
New regulations require hunters to have their animals tested for the illness at state check stations.
Testing locations can be found on the Department’s website.
Staci Lehman with Fish and Wildlife says hunters can only transport certain body parts outside the eastern Washington hunting region.
"It is limited to meat that has been boned out, any part of the skull or antler removed," Lehman told SPR News. "So that includes velvet, hides or capes without the heads attached, and then finished taxidermy mounts."
If an animal does test positive, she said there are no restrictions on human consumption of the meat. There is no current evidence that the disease infects humans.
The fatal neurological disease was discovered in the state last year, and spreads between animals through direct contact and bodily fluids.
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Reporting by James Dawson, Owen Henderson, Bellamy Pailthorp and Steve Jackson.