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Texas Considers Medicaid Withdrawal
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/politics/07ttmedicaid.html?_r=1
11/6/10
Do you think the medicaid program should be dropped in your state?
Some Republican lawmakers — still reveling in Tuesday’s statewide election sweep — are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s estimated $25 billion budget shortfall: dropping out of the federal Medicaid program.
Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization. To join the conversation about this article, go to texastribune.org.
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.Far-right conservatives are offering that possibility in impassioned news conferences. Moderate Republicans are studying it behind closed doors. And the party’s advisers on health care policy say it is being discussed more seriously than ever, though they admit it may be as much a huge in-your-face to Washington as anything else.
“With Obamacare mandates coming down, we have a situation where we cannot reduce benefits or change eligibility” to cut costs, said State Representative Warren Chisum, Republican of Pampa, the veteran conservative lawmaker who recently entered the race for speaker of the House. “This system is bankrupting our state,” he said. “We need to get out of it. And with the budget shortfall we’re anticipating, we may have to act this year.”
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization, estimates Texas could save $60 billion from 2013 to 2019 by opting out of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, dropping coverage for acute care but continuing to finance long-term care services. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which has 3.6 million children, people with disabilities and impoverished Texans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, will release its own study on the effect of ending the state’s participation in the federal match program at some point between now and January.
State Representative John M. Zerwas, Republican of Simonton, an anesthesiologist who wrote the bill authorizing the health commission’s Medicaid study, said early indications were that dropping out of the program would have a tremendous financial ripple effect. Mr. Zerwas said that he was not ready to discount the idea, but that he worried about who would carry the burden of care without Medicaid’s “financial mechanism.”
“Because of the substantial amount of matching money that comes from the federal government,” Mr. Zerwas said, “there’s an economic impact that comes from that. If we start to look at what that impact is, we have to consider whether it’s feasible to not participate.”
State Senator Jane Nelson, Republican of Flower Mound, who heads the Senate Public Health Committee, said dropping out of Medicaid was worth considering — but only if it made fiscal sense without jeopardizing care.
Currently, the Texas program costs $40 billion for a period of two years, with the federal government paying 60 percent of the bill. As a result of federal health care changes, Ms. Nelson said, millions of additional Texans will be eligible for Medicaid.
“I want to know whether our current Medicaid enrollees, and there certainly could be millions more by 2014, could be served more cost efficiently and see better outcomes in a state run program,” she said.
11/6/10
Do you think the medicaid program should be dropped in your state?
Some Republican lawmakers — still reveling in Tuesday’s statewide election sweep — are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s estimated $25 billion budget shortfall: dropping out of the federal Medicaid program.
Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization. To join the conversation about this article, go to texastribune.org.
.Blogs
The Caucus
The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
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.Far-right conservatives are offering that possibility in impassioned news conferences. Moderate Republicans are studying it behind closed doors. And the party’s advisers on health care policy say it is being discussed more seriously than ever, though they admit it may be as much a huge in-your-face to Washington as anything else.
“With Obamacare mandates coming down, we have a situation where we cannot reduce benefits or change eligibility” to cut costs, said State Representative Warren Chisum, Republican of Pampa, the veteran conservative lawmaker who recently entered the race for speaker of the House. “This system is bankrupting our state,” he said. “We need to get out of it. And with the budget shortfall we’re anticipating, we may have to act this year.”
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization, estimates Texas could save $60 billion from 2013 to 2019 by opting out of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, dropping coverage for acute care but continuing to finance long-term care services. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which has 3.6 million children, people with disabilities and impoverished Texans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, will release its own study on the effect of ending the state’s participation in the federal match program at some point between now and January.
State Representative John M. Zerwas, Republican of Simonton, an anesthesiologist who wrote the bill authorizing the health commission’s Medicaid study, said early indications were that dropping out of the program would have a tremendous financial ripple effect. Mr. Zerwas said that he was not ready to discount the idea, but that he worried about who would carry the burden of care without Medicaid’s “financial mechanism.”
“Because of the substantial amount of matching money that comes from the federal government,” Mr. Zerwas said, “there’s an economic impact that comes from that. If we start to look at what that impact is, we have to consider whether it’s feasible to not participate.”
State Senator Jane Nelson, Republican of Flower Mound, who heads the Senate Public Health Committee, said dropping out of Medicaid was worth considering — but only if it made fiscal sense without jeopardizing care.
Currently, the Texas program costs $40 billion for a period of two years, with the federal government paying 60 percent of the bill. As a result of federal health care changes, Ms. Nelson said, millions of additional Texans will be eligible for Medicaid.
“I want to know whether our current Medicaid enrollees, and there certainly could be millions more by 2014, could be served more cost efficiently and see better outcomes in a state run program,” she said.
I think the thing that went wrong with healthcare reform was not the program itself but the way in which it was relayed to the people. You had one side trying to educate people and the other trying to make it out as a monster. Most people polled from what I understand did not think it went far enuff. The CBO numbers are solid and agree that it will save on the deficit. Alot of people like me wanted the public option. It is not a perfect program and was watered down quite a bit to get the pubs on board. Alot of what is in the bill was to placate them, altho you wont hear them admit it. There are really good things in that bill and some that need to be looked at more closely. LilAdvocate, your right in that if basic vaccinations lapse due to no health care we are looking at a huge huge problem. Under the program medicaid has been expanded but what needs to happen is for the cost of things to get under control and that is not going to happen under the current system with insurance companies imo. Shutting down a program like this would be devastating and it makes one wonder where the sanity is in politics these days. I think these freshman newly elected are letting their mouth run away with them and cannot imagine something like this actually happening overnite. I thought it was funny when Crist refused to opt in on the health care here in fl siting the reason that they have one in place already that you can get for about 150.00 a mo. NOT! TRUE! and the one he is referring to quit taking new enrollment 10 years ago and is closed to new people. POLITICIANS! All of em are just a bunch of liars!
As I've said I think they need to increase programs like the Medicaid Buy in for Working People with Disabilities that require that a person work in order to be eligible and has actually encouraged (and in fact required) people to go back to work if they are eligible and over the benefits limit. This is an issue that is decided on a state by state basis but most states have decided on their own to opt in.
http://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/buyin.htm
They need to develop more programs that are cost effective but also allow people to have health care. It would not be good to see people without health care that would not only impact on them but others around them such as if people were unable to receive vaccines. This has happened when people were cut off Medicaid. Any health care proposal though should be an issue that is decided on a bipartisan basis with the support of all Americans though. There I agree things went wrong.
http://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/buyin.htm
They need to develop more programs that are cost effective but also allow people to have health care. It would not be good to see people without health care that would not only impact on them but others around them such as if people were unable to receive vaccines. This has happened when people were cut off Medicaid. Any health care proposal though should be an issue that is decided on a bipartisan basis with the support of all Americans though. There I agree things went wrong.
I heard somewhere yesterday that another state was contemplating this as well. Dont remember right off the top of my head which one it was tho. I wonder what is going to happen to all these people if they do this? My guess is that people would be fleeing the states. Not sure. Im not even sure if the states can do that since it is a federal program.
And if it does happen and all those people are cut off, what happens with the crime rate etc. I think it will be at this time that you might just get that revolution. It will be interesting to see but I dont think the people are going to take it lying down. hmmm, I got my popcorn stash ready!
I think it might make better sense to get the fraud and waste out of the program. Baby steps here or all hell is gonna break loose.
This also signifies to me that they better come up with some kind of health care for the people or all those ER visits are gonna trash their econemy real fast.
And if it does happen and all those people are cut off, what happens with the crime rate etc. I think it will be at this time that you might just get that revolution. It will be interesting to see but I dont think the people are going to take it lying down. hmmm, I got my popcorn stash ready!
I think it might make better sense to get the fraud and waste out of the program. Baby steps here or all hell is gonna break loose.
This also signifies to me that they better come up with some kind of health care for the people or all those ER visits are gonna trash their econemy real fast.
When did this country become about what the gov't wants as opposed to what the people want? The vast majority of folks in the US do not want the Obamacare package in any form. I think I read somewhere that 66% of the people polled were against it (Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Gallup-Poll-says-most-think-Obamacare-will-make-things-worse-for-everybdy--88539897.html).
It's tantamount to the "taxation without representation" of old, and we all remember how THAT turned out. Is it seriously going to take an civil war of some type in order to rid the White-House of the succubus's that are there?
And as much as I hate to say it, this IS a race issue. 91% of the black people polled voted for Obama and would vote for him again (Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/10/obama-approval-gallup-blacks.html). You know what that means don't you? Jesse Jackson could run for office and be our next president. Try that on for size...
It's tantamount to the "taxation without representation" of old, and we all remember how THAT turned out. Is it seriously going to take an civil war of some type in order to rid the White-House of the succubus's that are there?
And as much as I hate to say it, this IS a race issue. 91% of the black people polled voted for Obama and would vote for him again (Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/10/obama-approval-gallup-blacks.html). You know what that means don't you? Jesse Jackson could run for office and be our next president. Try that on for size...
Too many people are dependent on the system to cut it off, so no.
There are a lot of things that need to be fixed with the health care system and Obama care was rammed down our throats and is not the answer. The leaders at both the States and Federal level need to look at what things will help carefully and make wiser choices.
There are a lot of things that need to be fixed with the health care system and Obama care was rammed down our throats and is not the answer. The leaders at both the States and Federal level need to look at what things will help carefully and make wiser choices.
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