Tuesday, August 02, 2005
While some governors find innovative solutions to Medicaid, Sebelius remains committed to bad ideas
[John Hanna, "Sebelius will continue to push health care proposals," Associated Press, The Kansas City Star, 1 August 2005.
Regina E. Herzlinger and Tom Nerney, "Medicine for Medicaid," The Wall Street Journal, 2 August 2005.]
Amazingly, Governor Sebelius insists on continuing to push her tobacco tax as a way to avoid real reform of Medicaid.
Last year, Sebelius proposed increasing tobacco taxes by $50 million to extend Medicaid and other state coverage to an additional 70,000 Kansans, plus subsidize private plans for an additional 30,000. The tax on cigarettes would have increase 50 cents a pack, to $1.29, while the tax on other tobacco products would have jumped to 15 percent from 10 percent.
Legislators never seriously debated her proposal, but Sebelius said she hadn't abandoned it.
"I think a user tax to pay for additional health care makes wonderful sense to me and makes wonderful sense to a lot of Kansans," she said.
But House Speaker Doug Mays said increasing tobacco taxes would do little to deal with the state's rising Medicaid costs, which have more than tripled over the past decade to more than $1.4 billion annually.
"If we don't begin looking at this problem and figuring out a course of action, we're going to be in deep trouble within a matter of three to five years," Mays said.
The contrast with leaders in other states is incredible:
On Medicaid's 40th anniversary -- just upon us -- some visionary governors are showing how chopping the $300 billion spent on the joint federal-state program for 53 million poor and disabled Americans is not the only solution to its staggering costs.
Three characteristics are central to such programs: (1) liberating enrollees to manage their own health care purchases; (2) freeing providers to design innovative care programs, tailored for the unique needs of the recipients; and (3) enabling intelligent choice with new information and support. For example, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's plan would liberate recipients with a budget sufficient to meet their particular health care needs, a catastrophic health insurance policy, and free preventive care. Enrollees could roll over unexpected annual funds. He would enable intelligent choice by transforming the Medicaid agency from a health care purchaser and micro-manager to an educator and facilitator. Jeb Bush's consumer-driven Medicaid program frees supply by encouraging innovations such as provider-sponsored, community-based health service systems.
Some Congressional solons decry plans that include freeing the federal chokehold on innovative state Medicaid programs. Bad mistake. The best cure for Medicaid's budget woes -- and the best medicine for its beneficiaries -- are market-based innovations by prescient governors.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Kansas needs bold Medicaid reform," The Wichita Eagle, 21 January 2004.]
[John Hanna, "Sebelius will continue to push health care proposals," Associated Press, The Kansas City Star, 1 August 2005.
Regina E. Herzlinger and Tom Nerney, "Medicine for Medicaid," The Wall Street Journal, 2 August 2005.]
Amazingly, Governor Sebelius insists on continuing to push her tobacco tax as a way to avoid real reform of Medicaid.
Last year, Sebelius proposed increasing tobacco taxes by $50 million to extend Medicaid and other state coverage to an additional 70,000 Kansans, plus subsidize private plans for an additional 30,000. The tax on cigarettes would have increase 50 cents a pack, to $1.29, while the tax on other tobacco products would have jumped to 15 percent from 10 percent.
Legislators never seriously debated her proposal, but Sebelius said she hadn't abandoned it.
"I think a user tax to pay for additional health care makes wonderful sense to me and makes wonderful sense to a lot of Kansans," she said.
But House Speaker Doug Mays said increasing tobacco taxes would do little to deal with the state's rising Medicaid costs, which have more than tripled over the past decade to more than $1.4 billion annually.
"If we don't begin looking at this problem and figuring out a course of action, we're going to be in deep trouble within a matter of three to five years," Mays said.
The contrast with leaders in other states is incredible:
On Medicaid's 40th anniversary -- just upon us -- some visionary governors are showing how chopping the $300 billion spent on the joint federal-state program for 53 million poor and disabled Americans is not the only solution to its staggering costs.
Three characteristics are central to such programs: (1) liberating enrollees to manage their own health care purchases; (2) freeing providers to design innovative care programs, tailored for the unique needs of the recipients; and (3) enabling intelligent choice with new information and support. For example, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's plan would liberate recipients with a budget sufficient to meet their particular health care needs, a catastrophic health insurance policy, and free preventive care. Enrollees could roll over unexpected annual funds. He would enable intelligent choice by transforming the Medicaid agency from a health care purchaser and micro-manager to an educator and facilitator. Jeb Bush's consumer-driven Medicaid program frees supply by encouraging innovations such as provider-sponsored, community-based health service systems.
Some Congressional solons decry plans that include freeing the federal chokehold on innovative state Medicaid programs. Bad mistake. The best cure for Medicaid's budget woes -- and the best medicine for its beneficiaries -- are market-based innovations by prescient governors.
[Matthew Hisrich, "Kansas needs bold Medicaid reform," The Wichita Eagle, 21 January 2004.]
Comments:
Post a Comment
