[NYAPRS Enews] P-S: Medicaid Cuts Sought By The Feds Are Likely To Become A State Obligation

[Harvey Rosenthal]

Ill-Considered 'Savings' 

Medicaid Cuts Sought By The Feds Are Likely To Become A State Obligation


Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial  March 02, 2008 

The Bush administration's latest attempt to "save" billions of dollars
on Medicaid is nothing less than a cynical shell game. 

Rather than reducing the cost to taxpayers of paying for Medicaid,
regulations issued over the past year or so by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services would just shift more of the burden for the
program to financially struggling states. 

Americans would pay less for Medicaid on their federal tax bills, but
they'd likely pay more for Medicaid in state or county taxes. That's
like putting money in one pocket and pulling money out of the other. 

Many states already are grappling with ways to close
multi-billion-dollar budget deficits. The weakening economy, too,
promises to squeeze state government revenues even further. New York
alone faces a $4.7 billion deficit in 2008-09. 

If the regulations were allowed to go in effect, the fallout could be
drastic. 

They could force states to cut health benefits for the poor and disabled
the very folks Medicaid is supposed to serve. 

They could restrict Medicaid payments to teaching hospitals (like
University Hospital) and county-run nursing homes (like Van Duyn Home
and Hospital). 

They could slash aid for school-based health services, case management
for children in foster care, and rehabilitation for people with serious
mental illnesses. 

And they could undermine efforts in New York and other states to use
Medicaid as a cornerstone in plans to expand health coverage for the
uninsured. Close to 47 million people nationwide have no medical
coverage. 

Clearly, these regulations, which do not require congressional approval,
will alter the Medicaid program in ways Congress never intended.
Congress even rejected legislation that would have made some of the same
changes that the ideologues in the Bush administration are now trying to
ram through by regulation. 

Their goal, the administration advocates say, is to make Medicaid more
like private-market insurance. Trouble is, commercial insurance doesn't
fully cover some people with serious health problems if they're covered
at all. Medicaid would not be much of a safety net with gaping holes
like that. 

Last year, Congress wisely imposed moratoriums on some of the
regulations, delaying the dates they'd take effect. But those
moratoriums are set to expire over the next several months. And the
Department of Health and Human Services has been churning out new rules
that would reshape Medicaid in ill-considered ways. 

This brazen end-run around Congress must be stopped. Lawmakers need to
act now to extend the moratoriums and block new attempts to disfigure
the nation's most vital health program for the needy. 

 

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