Virginia Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Exceeds Projections
State officials had estimated 300,000 newly eligible Virginians would sign up for Medicaid coverage in the first 18 months of expansion, which takes effect on Jan. 1, but that estimate has increased based on the current pace of enrollment. As of Thursday morning, 140,643 adults now eligible for coverage under the expansion have enrolled in Medicaid, said Christina Nuckols, a media relations manager with the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Service. State officials updated their estimate to 375,000 total enrollments by July 2020. That’s still 25,000 short of the 400,000 estimated Virginians who fall within the coverage requirements. Under the Affordable Care Act, states that expand Medicaid allow coverage for people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $16,750 a year for a disabled person or able-bodied adult and $28,700 for a family of three. Virginia residents, find out eligibility requirements and how to enroll in Medicaid here >> A combination of automatic enrollments and streamlined enrollment processes for residents the state already knew were eligible—like those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits—are some of the reasons why the pace of signups have exceeded expectations, according to a Washington Post report. As part of the expansion, the federal government is expected to cover 90 percent of the cost of the program, to the tune of $2 billion annually. Virginia will foot its portion of the expansion costs through two new hospital taxes, which are expected to raise $590 million in two years, $248 million of which will be used to boost the reibursment rate for acute care facilities that treat Medicaid patients. The impact on travel healthcare in Virginia Even with less than one month until thousands of new potential low-income patients gain insurance coverage, Virginia hospitals are more worried about handling current needs than worrying about future patient loads, said Imran Chaudry, a senior client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare. “In the Richmond area, I can tell you from the feedback I’ve gotten that every hospital is still slammed,” Chaudry said. “I’ve tried talking to all of my…clients about the Medicaid expansion, but nobody is talking about that because they are so wrapped up in their day-to-day.” Job orders for travelers in the state have increased significantly since the start of November, Chaundry said, from around 100 positions to almost 200 open positions as of Dec. 5. Most of the market growth has occurred in the northeast and eastern portions of the state, around the greater Richmond region, Chaundry said. View current Virginia travel healthcare openings on StaffDNA >> Bon Secours Health System, the largest healthcare provider in the Richmond region, merged with Cincinnati-based Mercy Health in September. The merger is expected to boost services for Bon Secours in three markets including the Hampton Roads Health system near the state’s coast, according to a Modern Healthcare report. Both the Richmond region and the Hampton Roads region serve large populations of low-income residents, which could result in a wave of demand for travelers once newly covered Medicaid patients gain coverage in January. Studies have shown that low-income populations prefer using hospital emergency departments instead of primary care doctors for their around-the-clock availability and ease of use.
EMR Conversions: Cerner Jobs Available For Fall In Virginia, Epic In New Mexico
Travel nurses with Cerner experience looking for a quick contract with great pay should turn their attention to Lynchburg, Virginia for new EMR conversion jobs. Centra Lynchburg General Hosptial, the flagship facility of the Centra Health system, will undergo a Cerner conversion in September, according to industry sources. Centra has been in the process of switching their hospitals to Cerner after signing a contract with the software company in 2016, according to a press release. The facility is primarily looking for ICU, CVICU, OR and step down travel nurses with Cerner experience. The assignments are scheduled to start on Aug. 27, last for five weeks and vary between day and night shifts. The short contract length could provide a good opportunity for qualified travelers who want to avoid working the holidays. Based on current job board data, pay for these positions range from $1,900-2,132 weekly, which is well above the average for the state. Additionally, despite Virginia’s high cost-of-living rating, Lynchburg actually falls below the state and national average, meaning travelers can save money on rent and basic necessities. You can view job board postings based on specialty here: CVICU OR ICU Oncology Editor’s note: Linked job board posts are subject to change based on availability and other factors. Interested travelers should contact their recruiters for the most up-to-date information. Additional EMR Conversion Needs September is shaping up to be a busy month for EMR conversion needs, as several facilities have “go-live” dates scheduled for the month. Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico still needs OR and medical-surgical travel nurses for their switch from Cerner to Epic charting on Sept. 17. Contracts will range anywhere from six to 13 weeks. Interested nurses should have Epic experience, two years of working in their specialty and previous travel assignment experience.
Travel Jobs: Top 10 States for June, July Market Predictions
In our June traveler job market predictions, we talked about the “summer stall”—less new job postings, more competition for every job and more interest in atypical summer job states. Based on StaffDNA job board data, two of our predictions were on target. Job application volume increase by nearly 20 percent from May to June, marking the most active month since January. What we didn’t expect was for supply to match pace with demand. Hospital systems in many states, including popular summer destinations like California and Virginia, bounced back after the late-May and early-June slump. Part of this can be linked to vacation plans for permanent hospital staff, according to travel agency sales staff sources. As the regular staff takes off for the summer or cuts back on hours, that provides opportunities for travelers to fill the gaps. We expect for this market momentum to stay strong in July, as travelers who took time off in June will be planning ahead for the start of the school season in August or to find a fall contract in September. The back-to-school rush marks a yearly milestone for many travelers with children or grandchildren. They will typically take a break during the summer for childcare, and return to hospitals once the kids are back in school. “The experienced travelers know it can take four to six weeks to find and start a job, so they start the search for an agency and position mid-summer,” said Kate Quinn of LiquidAgents Healthcare. Let’s take a look at what we learned from our top markets for June. Rankings barely shift as travelers settle in for the summer While April and May saw a lot of “movement” in terms of where healthcare travelers applied across the country, ranking shifts were much more conservative in June, despite the high application volume. Most states moved up or down the list by 5 ranks or less, and five states—North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin and Washington—didn’t move at all. We expect the list to remain mostly stable for July, August and potentially in early fall, as traveler won’t start making big moves until we get closer to the holiday season. Michigan, Missouri, Virginia enter the Top 10 For the first time this year, Missouri joined the likes of Texas, California and Florida in the top 10, moving up two spots from May to No. 9. Virginia moved back up as anticipated, jumping up five ranks to No. 10 on the list. The state is both a top travel destination for summer 2018 and one of the top five highest paying travel nurse states in the U.S. Montana, Wyoming climb the charts; Connecticut drops to dead last Montana and Wyoming both moved up seven ranks to take the No. 41 and 42 slots, respectively, while Connecticut dropped 16 spots to the bottom of our list. Connecticut has consistently ranked in the bottom half of the list for job board applications. It’s also one of the most expensive states to work in as a traveler because of the high regional cost of living and low average pay packages. Interest in Maine uncertain as Medicaid expansion remains in flux Enrollment for the voter-approved Medicaid expansion was supposed to roll out on July 2, which would have provided a $500 million shot in the arm for healthcare funding in the state and coverage for more than 70,000 eligible recipients. Pending litigation surrounding the expansion has left the issue in limbo. A Maine judge forced Gov. Paul LePage to submit an expansion plan to the federal government by June 11, but LePage’s administration submitted an appeal for the ruling. While the appeal is pending, LePage also vetoed the expansion bill this week. Because of the political turmoil, it’s uncertain whether the expansion will have an impact on the Maine traveler job market as expected. June’s Top Markets Florida California Texas North Carolina Georgia South Carolina Michigan Pennsylvania Missouri Virginia Illinois Indiana Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Arizona Nevada Idaho Oklahoma Iowa Wisconsin West Virginia New Mexico Maine Oregon Colorado Washington Hawaii Ohio Alabama Louisiana Maryland Mississippi New Jersey Alaska Utah Kansas Montana Wyoming Minnesota Massachusetts North Dakota New York District of Columbia Delaware Nebraska New Hampshire Rhode Island South Dakota Vermont Connecticut
Medicaid expansion in Virginia could spur hospital needs, more travel jobs
On the heels of a five-year legislative battle, Virginia lawmakers voted to expand Medicaid this week, which is poised to bring in thousands of new patients to hospitals and, in turn, a potential for increased temporary staffing needs across state hospitals. The Virginia Senate, which is controlled by a Republican majority, voted Wednesday to approve a state budget expanding Medicaid, and the House of Delegates, which originally opposed the expansion, approved it shortly afterward. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to sign the budget soon. Nearly $2 billion in federal funds that were up for grabs in previous years will now funnel into state facilities and help provide insurance coverage for an estimated 400,000 low-income residents. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Virginia Medicaid expansion will target citizens with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level—$16,643 for an individual and $28,700 for a family of three. Those who qualify will be able to enroll at the start of 2019. Newly insured citizens could cause growth in patient demand, which, in turn, could lead to increased temporary staffing needs in the state, said Sheldon Arora, CEO of travel nurse staffing agency LiquidAgents Healthcare. Many studies have shown states that expand Medicaid programs under the ACA also see a marked growth in Medicaid enrollment, according to findings published by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Additionally, a 2015 study by The Commonwealth Fund found that primary care physicians who accepted Medicaid reported seeing an increased number of Medicaid patients. “Underserved groups will use healthcare services frequently because they have never had insurance or haven’t had insurance in a while. When they get it, they’ll use it,” Arora said. “We should expect the demand to increase, because hospitals may not have the staff to take care of the influx in new patients, so they will have to get more help from temporary nurses.” Other states looking to expand Medicaid Virginia will be the 33rd state to approve Medicaid expansion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, but several other states are also working towards expansion approval. Utah Utah residents will vote on a November referendum to further expand Medicaid to serve an additional 150,000 residents. Idaho Medicaid expansion was added to the November ballot after roughly 58,000 Idaho residents signed a ballot proposal in May. State officials are still verifying that all the signatures came from 6 percent of the registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Nebraska Nebraska Democrats started a grassroots campaign encouraging voters to sign a petition to get Medicaid expansion on the November ballot. Organizers have until July 5 to gather 85,000 signatures.