SPN Medicaid Exchange - Issue 60

Published on Wednesday, September 03, 2008
MEDICAID EXCHANGE

SPN Medicaid Exchange - Issue 60

What's New in Medicaid
And Other Health Care Issues

The hottest new fad (P4P) doesn't work, says new study.

Number of uninsured declined in 2007, despite claims there is a health insurance crisis in the United States, says NCPA's Devon Herrick. Read here.

But is the term "uninsured" misleading? Read John Goodman's Health Alert.

Goodman's latest Health Alert: The problem with modern medicine lies not with doctors, but with the payment system.

Telemedicine - the use of information technology in diagnosing, treating and monitoring patients - is adding a new dimension to modern health care. Read here.

Update on State Reforms

State Mandates and Insurance Affordability: The new Census numbers show that the majority of the 3.6 million increase in the "insured" was a result of coverage through government health care programs. But private insurance policies would be more affordable for families if states lifted burdensome regulations and if the federal government allowed for a national health care market. Read the Galen Institute's Grace-Marie Turner here.

California: In an attempt to control health care costs, a state legislator has sponsored a bill requiring insurers to spend at least 85 percent of their premium revenue (after tax payments ) on health benefits. However, health insurers say the bill will not address the underlying causes of rising costs nor improve the quality of care. Read more here.

Florida: Despite some naysayers, health experts are defending a new law that will allow Floridians to purchase basic health insurance coverage without costly mandates. Read more here.

Maine: Maine's Dirigo Care has cost taxpayers $164 million a year, and has done little to cover the uninsured. Taxpayers, angry at the new alcohol and tobaccos taxes that have been imposed to fund the program, have collected enough signatures to put a repeal referendum on the November ballot. Read more here in Heartland's Health Care News.

Be Prepared

The Commonwealth Fund is at it again. Its most recent scorecard on U.S Health Care performance found that the U.S. lags behind other countries in the quality of its health care. But the methodology and indicators used to arrive at this conclusion have fatal flaws. Read Linda Gorman's assessment.

Order a copy of the NCPA Handbook on State Health Care Reform here.

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 can help 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:

NCPA Brief Analysis: Medical Tourism: Health Care Free Trade
Government to Spend $56 Billion on the Uninsured This Year, says Study
Arizona: A Prime Example of Financial Ruin by Medicaid
Florida: Experts Defend New Law Reducing Insurance Mandates
Florida: HMOs Agree to Stay in Medicaid Reform Program
Louisiana: State Moves Forward on Medical Home System Implementation
Massachusetts: Consumers Pay $1.3 Billion a Year for Mandated Benefits
New York: Governor Proposes Medicaid Spending Cuts
Pennsylvania: Health Board Fired, Rehired
South Carolina: Medical Records Moving from Paper to Pixels

Links of Interest

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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