Monday, October 24, 2005
Published in The Wichita Eagle on September 20, 2005
STATE SEEKS TO SLOW MEDICAID GROWTH
By STEVE PAINTER, Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA - A legislative panel began looking Monday for ways to rein in the rapidly rising cost of Medicaid, which covers health care expenses for the poor, the elderly and the disabled.
The state's cost jumped more than 25 percent in the budget year that ended June 30 and has risen 142 percent over the past decade, despite eligibility requirements that are among the tightest in the nation.
The factor driving those costs is familiar to non-Medicaid patients as well: the rising cost of health care services of all kinds. The state's cost per recipient accounts for 59 percent of the increase in recent years, with new enrollment accounting for the balance.
"This is an enormous topic," said Sen. Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, who leads the Special Committee on Medicaid Reform.
The best the committee can hope for, he said, is to control the growth.
Senate and House members of the panel will meet five more times before the 2006! Legislature convenes in January.
Across the nation, states are exploring ways to slow the growth. This year, $2.2 billion will be spent on Kansas Medicaid recipients, nearly 10 percent of the population.
The state's share of that cost is about $880 million, with the federal government covering the rest.
Elsewhere, Missouri is implementing cuts that will end services to about 100,000 people over two years, and Tennessee has ended services to about 190,000, according to the Kansas Health Institute, a Topeka-based research group that studies health care issues.
Although Kansas' eligibility requirements are tighter, the committee likely will revisit rules that shelter some assets, such as income-producing property and personal property such as jewelry and antiques.
Rules could be changed to require Medicaid recipients to sell those assets to help pay for their health care.
The panel also will review past audits that have raised questions abo! ut transportation costs billed to Medicaid and the share of money that goes to independent agencies that handle the paperwork for billing Medicaid.
"I would be aggressive like a dog," advised Barb Hinton, head of the Legislature's auditing division.
Although children in poverty account for the biggest enrollment increases in recent years, they also are the cheapest, at an average cost of $2,460 a year.
Elderly Kansans, some in nursing homes and some receiving home and communit y-based services, cost $7,310 a year. Disabled clients cost $11,460 a year.
About two-thirds of Kansans are covered by insurance through an employer, according to the Health Institute. The other third are almost equally divided, having Medicaid, private insurance or no insurance.
Andy Allison, director of health care finance and organization for the institute, cautioned lawmakers that they face "tough choices with real consequences for people's lives."
In addition to reviewing assets, transportation costs and billing agents, Schmidt said he hopes to look at incentives for people to buy long-term care insurance to keep them out of the system.
But in the bigger cost picture, he said, "these are going to be small steps."
The committee meets again Sept 26.
STATE SEEKS TO SLOW MEDICAID GROWTH
By STEVE PAINTER, Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA - A legislative panel began looking Monday for ways to rein in the rapidly rising cost of Medicaid, which covers health care expenses for the poor, the elderly and the disabled.
The state's cost jumped more than 25 percent in the budget year that ended June 30 and has risen 142 percent over the past decade, despite eligibility requirements that are among the tightest in the nation.
The factor driving those costs is familiar to non-Medicaid patients as well: the rising cost of health care services of all kinds. The state's cost per recipient accounts for 59 percent of the increase in recent years, with new enrollment accounting for the balance.
"This is an enormous topic," said Sen. Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, who leads the Special Committee on Medicaid Reform.
The best the committee can hope for, he said, is to control the growth.
Senate and House members of the panel will meet five more times before the 2006! Legislature convenes in January.
Across the nation, states are exploring ways to slow the growth. This year, $2.2 billion will be spent on Kansas Medicaid recipients, nearly 10 percent of the population.
The state's share of that cost is about $880 million, with the federal government covering the rest.
Elsewhere, Missouri is implementing cuts that will end services to about 100,000 people over two years, and Tennessee has ended services to about 190,000, according to the Kansas Health Institute, a Topeka-based research group that studies health care issues.
Although Kansas' eligibility requirements are tighter, the committee likely will revisit rules that shelter some assets, such as income-producing property and personal property such as jewelry and antiques.
Rules could be changed to require Medicaid recipients to sell those assets to help pay for their health care.
The panel also will review past audits that have raised questions abo! ut transportation costs billed to Medicaid and the share of money that goes to independent agencies that handle the paperwork for billing Medicaid.
"I would be aggressive like a dog," advised Barb Hinton, head of the Legislature's auditing division.
Although children in poverty account for the biggest enrollment increases in recent years, they also are the cheapest, at an average cost of $2,460 a year.
Elderly Kansans, some in nursing homes and some receiving home and communit y-based services, cost $7,310 a year. Disabled clients cost $11,460 a year.
About two-thirds of Kansans are covered by insurance through an employer, according to the Health Institute. The other third are almost equally divided, having Medicaid, private insurance or no insurance.
Andy Allison, director of health care finance and organization for the institute, cautioned lawmakers that they face "tough choices with real consequences for people's lives."
In addition to reviewing assets, transportation costs and billing agents, Schmidt said he hopes to look at incentives for people to buy long-term care insurance to keep them out of the system.
But in the bigger cost picture, he said, "these are going to be small steps."
The committee meets again Sept 26.
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