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SPN Medicaid Exchange - Issue 56
Published on Thursday, July 03, 2008
MEDICAID EXCHANGE
SPN Medicaid Exchange - Issue 56
What's New in Medicaid
And Other Health Care Issues
Commonwealth Foundation's study on the underinsured is in the running for the Worst Study Award: How can a study address the problem of the underinsured without looking at the "overinsured?" Read John Goodman's Health Alert.
Other takes on the Commonwealth Study: Read other rebuttals by John Graham, Greg Scandlen, and Grace Marie Turner.
Medicaid spending has grown dramatically. In spite of this, enrollees face limited access and treatment options. All this could change if the government were to implement 10 Medicaid reforms Read "Ten Steps to Reforming Medicaid," based on an excerpt from the NCPA's Handbook on State Health Care Reform.
If you would like to order a copy of our Handbook on State Health Care Reform, click here.
Did you know that one in four uninsured Americans are eligible for public programs, but are not enrolled? Many resist enrollment, even in hospital emergency rooms. The lesson: Public insurance may not be valuable as policy wonks think it is. Read more here.
Update on State Reforms
Maryland: While many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to cover the uninsured, Maryland has found that 90,000 eligible children are not enrolled in the state's SCHIP program, despite an expensive marketing campaign! Read, "Maryland Law Targets Uninsured to Fill Government Insurance Rolls."
Michigan: An effort to get a universal health care initiative on the ballot has failed due to lack of enough signatures, but supporters say they will lobby the State Legislature and the U.S. Congress. See "Group Abandons Petition for State Universal Health Care."
New Jersey: Gov. Corzine is expected to sign a bill that will expand health coverage to parents earning up to twice the poverty level. It will also mandate that children have health insurance. However, some policymakers argue that simply expanding government will not increase access to health care until regulatory burdens on health insurers are addressed. Read "A Move Toward Universal Health Care One Step Away."
Pennsylvania: Supporters of Gov. Rendell's proposal to centralize Medicaid prescription drug purchases say it will save the state nearly $100 billion annually, but others disagree. Read, "Drug Costs in a Pa. Dispute."
Be Prepared
Does Medicaid spending create jobs in your state? Linda Gorman says the claim is ridiculous. Read NCPA Health Alert, "Is There A Silver Lining in Uncontrolled Spending?"
The Commonwealth Fund finds an answer to the triple problem of cost, quality and access: more government bureaucracy. Sound laughable? Read John Goodman's Health Alert, "Problem Solved."
Do Families USA numbers add up in your state? Many people die each year as a result of being uninsured, claims Families U.S.A. They even provide state-by-state estimates. But Linda Gorman says the numbers don't add up. Read the NCPA Health Alert, "Dying for (Media) Coverage."
Sign up for John Goodman's health policy blog at: http://www.john-goodman-blog.com/
Take Advantage of the NCPA's Medicaid Service Center
- The NCPA's Medicaid Service Center canhelp state-based think tanks with commentaries, policy papers and speakers for briefings.Those interested in exploring further should contact Devon Herrick at (972) 308-6470.
Other News:
- Most Doctors Aren't Using Electronic Medical Records
- California: Coalition Deems State's Planned Medicaid Cuts Extreme and Illegal
- Massachusetts: Challenges of Covering the Uninsured
- Mississippi: State Tackles Low Medicaid Funding
- Montana Measure to Expand SCHIP
- Nevada: Bill Delays Medicaid Cuts
- Ohio: Ambulette Service is Lucrative Medicaid Scam
- Pennsylvania: Republicans Unveil Alternative to Rendell's Health-care Proposal
- Washington: Thousands Losing Medicaid Coverage
- Study: Patients With Medicaid Co-Pays Cut Out Certain Drugs
Long-Term Care
Links of Interest
- Center for Long-Term Care Reform, Inc.
- Center for Health Transformation
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Consumers for Health Care Choices
- MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health)
- National Association of State Medicaid Directors
What the Other Side Says
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Families USA - Medicaid and Children's Health
- The Commonwealth Fund
- The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
The NCPA welcomes submissions of Medicaid-related research for inclusion in future editions.
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