Indiana governor proposes alternative to expansion of Medicaid

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's new plan to provide health coverage for more of the state's low-income residents is another sign that few if any of the states holding out on Obamacare's Medicaid expansion will do it in the way the law envisioned. The proposal also will test the Obama administration's appetite to meet its coverage goals against its reticence to approve policies, such as cost-sharing requirements, favored by some conservatives. Not counting Indiana, 23 states have yet to move forward with some form of expansion. Like several other Republican-led states, Indiana plans to apply for a waiver that will allow it to use federal Medicaid expansion funds to purchase coverage for adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

Dignity Health reported an operating loss in the third quarter of its fiscal year because of higher expenses and a halt in revenue from the California provider-fee program. The San Francisco-based system also booked a smaller surplus compared with its fiscal 2013 third quarter because of a drop in its net investment income. Dignity saw a $17.4 million operating loss on revenue of

$2.6 billion for the quarter ended March 31, compared with an operating surplus of $42.3 million on revenue of $2.5 billion in the prior-year period.

The nation's healthcare law has served as a boon to local television stations as record amounts of advertising dollars have been spent, mostly to attack the law. Since its 2010 enactment, $700 million has been spent on commercials related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to the latest research from Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. Insurers, state exchanges and HHS all have advertised. But the lion's share of dollars has been spent on negative political TV ads, Kantar reports.