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Stephanie Azar

CHIP program changes will cost Alabama an estimated $1 billion over the next decade

Recent changes to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) means that the state of Alabama is going to have to shoulder substantially more of the cost for the program. An estimated 220,000 children receive their health insurance through the CHIP program, which is managed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBSAL) and marketed under … Continued
January 31, 2019

Governor Ivey announces new Medicaid long-term care program

Monday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) announced that the federal government has approved a new statewide care-management program to complement and enhance the state’s current system of long-term care services provided to approximately 23,000 Alabama Medicaid recipients. The Integrated Care Network (ICN) program was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on … Continued
October 2, 2018

Bentley leads team to Washington to lobby for new Healthcare law

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter Monday, March 20, 2017, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) was joined by Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia), State Senator Trip Pittman (R-Montrose), Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed (R-Jasper), State Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar, and key aides in Washington DC. The team is in Washington hoping to influence … Continued
March 21, 2017

Want to see public records? It’ll cost you

By Josh Moon Alabama Political Reporter Alabama’s Open Records Act stinks. It’s worthless. It’s mostly unhelpful. And for those entities that know how to use the loopholes and rules to their advantage, the law can actually be a deterrent to accessing open records. The Alabama Medicaid agency is one of those entities. In “fulfilling” a … Continued
March 16, 2017

Medicaid Chief paints dire picture

By Josh Moon Alabama Political Reporter Medicaid needs more money. No, this isn’t a reprint of a news story from last fall. It’s the reality once again for the State’s beleaguered Medicaid office. A few months after requiring a special session to dig up $105 million in BP oil spill money to keep Medicaid afloat, … Continued
January 31, 2017

Bentley, Lawmakers to Hash Out Troubled RCOs

By Josh Moon Alabama Political Reporter Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has called several lawmakers and other state officials to Montgomery for a Monday meeting on the status of the State’s troubled Regional Care Organizations. “I assume he wants to discuss how this thing (RCOs) might be held together, if it can be,” said Sen. Jim … Continued
November 10, 2016

Regional Care Organizations Collapsing

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—The promised dream of Regional Care Organizations (RCOs) saving the State’s underfunded and overburdened Medicaid system continues to unravel. Just recently, the University of Birmingham Medical Systems and Viva Heath Inc., abandoned their programs indefinitely, citing the instability of State funding. Last month, The Alabama Political Reporter obtained a … Continued
October 27, 2016

CEO of State’s Largest Medicaid Provider Strongly Opposes Current RCOs

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—A letter to Alabama Medicaid Agency Commissioner, Stephanie Azar, dated September 21, of this year, renders a devastating point-by-point analysis of the much-hyped Regional Care Organizations (RCOs). According to a letter obtained by the Alabama Political Reporter, the current RCO model will not save money, but will cost more … Continued
September 28, 2016

Medicaid Announces Delay in RCO Implementation

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter Even after a lengthy Special Session dedicated to finding funds for Gov. Robert Bentley’s experimental Medicaid Regional Care Organizations, Alabama’s Medicaid Agency announced last week it has requested a delay in the implementation of the RCO plan. The Alabama Medicaid Agency officials, in a news release on their website, … Continued
September 20, 2016