Alabam Abandons Major Health Reforms

Alabama will end an ambitious attempt to move Medicaid from a fee-for-service model to one that rewarded health outcomes.Gov. Kay Ivey and Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar said in separate statements Thursday that conversations with the Trump administration led them to end the state's push for regional care organizations (RCOs). Instead, Ivey and Azar wrote that they expect the administration to allow them "flexibility" in running the Medicaid program, which covers over 1 million Alabamians and plays a major role in keeping the state's hospitals and primary care providers operational.