Wednesday, January 19, 2005
New Hampshire, Florida Medicaid reform proposals online
Florida Governor Jeb Bush and New Hampshire Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen both recently proposed sweeping changes to their respective state's Medicaid program as an answer to rising costs and low quality of services. These proposals are available online for those interested in learning more:
Empowered Care - Florida
“To fulfill our commitment to Florida's Medicaid program, we must transform it completely so that the number one priority is patient wellbeing and the last consideration is government control,” said Governor Bush. “Our proposals put the focus back on the patient by encouraging strong patient-doctor relationships and allowing competition in the market to drive access and quality of care up from current levels in the Medicaid system.”
- The transformation begins by empowering Medicaid participants to make choices about their own care. Health care providers will create benefit packages falling into a combination of three components: basic care, catastrophic care and flexible spending. Participants — with the help of choice counselors — will choose the plan that best meets their needs.
- Medicaid participants will be able to build a “bridge to independence” by “opting out” of Medicaid plans and using their state-paid premium to purchase insurance in the private market.
GraniteCare - New Hampshire
The cost structure of the existing Medicaid Program is unsustainable. Medical cost inflation, the aging population and an increase in consumers receiving care in costly settings have created a growth rate that will outstrip State and county ability to fund these services without sizeable and repeated tax increases or significant reductions in eligibility and benefits.
This challenge is one that each state faces. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers' annual State Expenditure Report, Medicaid has now become the largest single cost to states nationally.
GraniteCare proposes the establishment of health services accounts for all non-disabled Medicaid consumers above 133% of the federal poverty level. Each consumer will be given an individualized budget with two accounts, one for preventive services based on clinical guidelines, and one for use for non-emergency services. The preventive account will cover regular physician and dental visits, as well as immunizations. Finally, a catastrophic pool will be established to pay for emergency care, as defined by the legislature.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush and New Hampshire Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen both recently proposed sweeping changes to their respective state's Medicaid program as an answer to rising costs and low quality of services. These proposals are available online for those interested in learning more:
Empowered Care - Florida
“To fulfill our commitment to Florida's Medicaid program, we must transform it completely so that the number one priority is patient wellbeing and the last consideration is government control,” said Governor Bush. “Our proposals put the focus back on the patient by encouraging strong patient-doctor relationships and allowing competition in the market to drive access and quality of care up from current levels in the Medicaid system.”
- The transformation begins by empowering Medicaid participants to make choices about their own care. Health care providers will create benefit packages falling into a combination of three components: basic care, catastrophic care and flexible spending. Participants — with the help of choice counselors — will choose the plan that best meets their needs.
- Medicaid participants will be able to build a “bridge to independence” by “opting out” of Medicaid plans and using their state-paid premium to purchase insurance in the private market.
GraniteCare - New Hampshire
The cost structure of the existing Medicaid Program is unsustainable. Medical cost inflation, the aging population and an increase in consumers receiving care in costly settings have created a growth rate that will outstrip State and county ability to fund these services without sizeable and repeated tax increases or significant reductions in eligibility and benefits.
This challenge is one that each state faces. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers' annual State Expenditure Report, Medicaid has now become the largest single cost to states nationally.
GraniteCare proposes the establishment of health services accounts for all non-disabled Medicaid consumers above 133% of the federal poverty level. Each consumer will be given an individualized budget with two accounts, one for preventive services based on clinical guidelines, and one for use for non-emergency services. The preventive account will cover regular physician and dental visits, as well as immunizations. Finally, a catastrophic pool will be established to pay for emergency care, as defined by the legislature.
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