CMS administrator Seema Verma on Monday said the agency has rejected Kansas' request to impose a three-year limit on Medicaid coverage for certain beneficiaries, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Iowa, Kansas, and Texas.
- Iowa: UnityPoint Health-Des Moines has named Jennifer Havens as CEO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center, effective July 30. Havens has previously served as VP of operations for Central Iowa Healthcare and as CEO of Grundy County Memorial Hospital. Havens will succeed Todd Linden, who retired in 2017 (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 5/4).
- Kansas: CMS administrator Seema Verma on Monday said the agency has rejected Kansas' request to impose a three-year limit on Medicaid coverage for certain beneficiaries. Verma wrote, however, that CMS still is reviewing the rest of Kansas' proposal, which, among other things, seeks to implement work requirements for some Medicaid beneficiaries. Verma wrote that CMS will work with Kansas to help "identif[y] a workable approach to meeting the state's goals." She suggested that Kansas officials could review approved waiver requests from states such as Arkansas, Indiana, and Kentucky, which she said offer beneficiaries incentives for participating in community engagement activities and taking responsibility for their health (Frieden, MedPage Today, 5/7; CMS letter, 5/7; Galewitz, Kaiser Health News, 5/7; Sullivan, The Hill, 5/7; Pradhan, Politico, 5/7; Weixel, The Hill, 5/7; Ross Johnson, Modern Healthcare, 5/7).
- Texas: Former President George H.W. Bush was discharged from Houston Methodist Hospital on Friday after almost two weeks receiving inpatient treatment for a blood infection. According to family spokesperson Jim McGrath, Bush is "doing well and is happy to return home" (Reuters, 5/4).
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