Kansas Health

["NPR Examines Kentucky, West Virginia Revisions to Medicaid Programs Under New Federal Law," Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 23 August 2006.]

The federal system of government in the United States ideally should allow for 50 "laboratories of democracy," in which public policy can be adapted to local preferences and all can learn from the successes and failures of the others. In the case of the federal-state joint program Medicaid, however, federal regulation has up until recently made such experimentation virtually impossible. New rules are now in effect, though, that are opening the door to creative approaches to solving the currently unsustainable design of Medicaid:

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday examined revisions to the Medicaid programs in Kentucky and West Virginia, which are the first two states to revise their programs under a new federal law that allows states increased flexibility in determining benefits and out-of-pocket costs.

The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

[Michael Bond, "Reforming Medicaid in Kansas: A Market-Based Approach," The Flint Hills Center, 2 February 2006.]