Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Lessons from Tennessee...and Texas
[Chris Patterson, "Drowning In Health Care Costs?," The Texas Public Policy Foundation, 2 December 2004.]
Medicaid is swamping the state budget in Texas. And yet, policymakers in the state continue to offer expansions of the program as though they were gifts to the public. Sound familiar? TPPF's Chris Patterson offers an alternative:
Economists say Medicaid and CHIP will bankrupt every state, including Texas, by 2014. Signs of the impending crisis are evident in health care cost over-runs and budget shortfalls.
Because the price of government health care is expected to double within the next ten years, no state – not even Texas - can bankroll Medicaid and CHIP.
Before expanding enrollment and making more Texans dependent on a sinking program, it would be useful to look at Tennessee. Ten years ago, Tennessee lawmakers offered a government-subsidized health care program to residents not covered by other insurance.
Today, TennCare covers nearly 25 percent of the state’s population and consumes nearly 33 percent of Tennessee’s budget. Tripling costs forced lawmakers to institute draconian controls and now Tennessee rations medical care – 12 doctor visits per year and 6 prescriptions per month. Anticipating a $650 million deficit in funding for TennCare in 2005, Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen is proposing to jettison the program.
Although Texas is traveling the same route as Tennessee, there is an alternative. Health Savings Accounts pair a major medical insurance policy – for big medical expenses after a deductible is met – with a tax-exempt savings account that pays for routine medical expenses such as preventive care.
For lawmakers, HSAs offer a way to control government health costs. Securing a federal waiver to expand Medicaid vouchers (now used for acute and long-term care in Texas), HSAs could be provided for Texans enrolled in government health programs.
Recognizing that socialized health care cannot work any better in Texas than it has in Tennessee, Canada, and Europe, some legislators will propose an alternative: HSAs offer reliable, affordable lifeboats for all Texans.
[Matthew Hisrich, Staying the Course: Medicaid Reform in Kansas, The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, January 2004.]
[Chris Patterson, "Drowning In Health Care Costs?," The Texas Public Policy Foundation, 2 December 2004.]
Medicaid is swamping the state budget in Texas. And yet, policymakers in the state continue to offer expansions of the program as though they were gifts to the public. Sound familiar? TPPF's Chris Patterson offers an alternative:
Economists say Medicaid and CHIP will bankrupt every state, including Texas, by 2014. Signs of the impending crisis are evident in health care cost over-runs and budget shortfalls.
Because the price of government health care is expected to double within the next ten years, no state – not even Texas - can bankroll Medicaid and CHIP.
Before expanding enrollment and making more Texans dependent on a sinking program, it would be useful to look at Tennessee. Ten years ago, Tennessee lawmakers offered a government-subsidized health care program to residents not covered by other insurance.
Today, TennCare covers nearly 25 percent of the state’s population and consumes nearly 33 percent of Tennessee’s budget. Tripling costs forced lawmakers to institute draconian controls and now Tennessee rations medical care – 12 doctor visits per year and 6 prescriptions per month. Anticipating a $650 million deficit in funding for TennCare in 2005, Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen is proposing to jettison the program.
Although Texas is traveling the same route as Tennessee, there is an alternative. Health Savings Accounts pair a major medical insurance policy – for big medical expenses after a deductible is met – with a tax-exempt savings account that pays for routine medical expenses such as preventive care.
For lawmakers, HSAs offer a way to control government health costs. Securing a federal waiver to expand Medicaid vouchers (now used for acute and long-term care in Texas), HSAs could be provided for Texans enrolled in government health programs.
Recognizing that socialized health care cannot work any better in Texas than it has in Tennessee, Canada, and Europe, some legislators will propose an alternative: HSAs offer reliable, affordable lifeboats for all Texans.
[Matthew Hisrich, Staying the Course: Medicaid Reform in Kansas, The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, January 2004.]
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