Monday, March 01, 2004
Medicaid growth nationwide triple that of population increase
[Dennis Cauchon, "Medicaid rolls reach record 42 million," USA Today, 1 March 2004.]
Despite dire warnings of severe enrollment cuts in Medicaid, enrollment rose by 1.6 million or 3.9 percent last year.
Taxpayers spent $269 billion on Medicaid last year to cover medical care, nursing homes and prescription drugs for the poor. States pay an average 39 percent of the cost, the federal government 61 percent. When state finances began deteriorating in 2001, some officials and advocates for the poor predicted that Medicaid — the fastest growing expense in state government — would be cut to save money.
States continue to allow growth in Medicaid even in the face of fiscal crisis. Kansas must act now to avoid a situation where the program consumes the entire budget. One way to address this is by examining the role nursing home care plays in the equation. According to this article:
State legislators and policy analysts say Medicaid has broad political support because it benefits the middle class, as well as the poor, by covering nursing homes and drugs for the low-income elderly and disabled.
"If we didn't have Medicaid, the middle class would be responsible for taking care of their parents in nursing homes. That's why the program has support ... in both parties," says Connecticut state Sen. Toni Harp, a Democrat who heads the health committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
People are acting under the assumption that Medicaid offers a free alternative to providing for their own long-term care or that of their parents. The costs of this misunderstanding are mounting. A step in the right direction would be to return Medicaid to its stated purpose of assisting the poor.
[Matthew Hisrich, Staying the Course: Medicaid Reform in Kansas, The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, February 2004.]
[Dennis Cauchon, "Medicaid rolls reach record 42 million," USA Today, 1 March 2004.]
Despite dire warnings of severe enrollment cuts in Medicaid, enrollment rose by 1.6 million or 3.9 percent last year.
Taxpayers spent $269 billion on Medicaid last year to cover medical care, nursing homes and prescription drugs for the poor. States pay an average 39 percent of the cost, the federal government 61 percent. When state finances began deteriorating in 2001, some officials and advocates for the poor predicted that Medicaid — the fastest growing expense in state government — would be cut to save money.
States continue to allow growth in Medicaid even in the face of fiscal crisis. Kansas must act now to avoid a situation where the program consumes the entire budget. One way to address this is by examining the role nursing home care plays in the equation. According to this article:
State legislators and policy analysts say Medicaid has broad political support because it benefits the middle class, as well as the poor, by covering nursing homes and drugs for the low-income elderly and disabled.
"If we didn't have Medicaid, the middle class would be responsible for taking care of their parents in nursing homes. That's why the program has support ... in both parties," says Connecticut state Sen. Toni Harp, a Democrat who heads the health committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
People are acting under the assumption that Medicaid offers a free alternative to providing for their own long-term care or that of their parents. The costs of this misunderstanding are mounting. A step in the right direction would be to return Medicaid to its stated purpose of assisting the poor.
[Matthew Hisrich, Staying the Course: Medicaid Reform in Kansas, The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, February 2004.]
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