Proposed rules for Medicaid are unworkable
John Kasich’s administration have pushed to cut red tape in some areas, they are going in exactly the opposite direction when it comes to working families who rely on Medicaid for health care.
Medicaid needs to change. But the experimental work-requirement waiver mandated by the Statehouse is not the kind of change that is needed. Rushing to pass a complex, and potentially expensive, set of regulations will only punish the hundreds of thousands of Ohioans who have benefited from this coverage to address their chronic diseases, afford necessary medications and reduce their need for governmentsubsidized assistance in other programs.
The waiver offered by the state does create a number of workarounds to enable coverage, but it still requires mounds of paperwork and process, the success of which assumes an efficient and effective coordination of federal, state and county governments. What’s more, we have found that this experiment will cost county governments more than $370 million to have county caseworkers navigate the maze of new protocols and rules that will be imposed on working Ohioans seeking care. This is money that could be used to help these very same people find a job, receive the training they need for a rapidly changing economy or pursue an education.
There is nothing in this waiver that addresses the costs of health care, which is its stated intent in the first place. Whether or not you have Medicaid, we can all agree that more needs to be done to control outrageous drug prices, confusing billing practices and wasteful utilization that keeps Ohio 46th in the nation in overall health-care value. The reality is, the reason health care is so expensive has very little to do with the seasonal and part-time workers who are enrolled in Medicaid. It has very little to do with consumers like you or me.
Recently, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a review of the factors associated with the increases in U.S. health-care spending. Unsurprisingly, the review found that service price and intensity account for 50 percent of the cost increase since 1996. People only need to think about their own experiences with the health-care system to know why this is. How many of us have received a conflicting bill from a hospital or insurer, or heard tales of CT scans that cost $3,000 one place, only to find the same scan costs $10,000 somewhere else? How many of us have had a copay that we were not expecting because of a medical emergency, or were worried about paying a deductible? If these questions resonate with you, then you can understand why this waiver does not address the fundamental problem we have in this country. It’s not Medicaid.
Ohio should not regulate itself out of a globally competitive position in industry, so why should we accept it in our personal lives? Medicaid is the primary insurance for older adults, the disabled, children and those with a serious medical issue. For those who were a part of the Medicaid expansion, the majority already are working — so what problem does Ohio’s waiver solve? It’s not cost. And it’s certainly not the size of government.
If the General Assembly and the governor are interested in supporting working Ohioans, they should do so. They should focus on efforts that connect people to work, make education more affordable and put Ohio in a position to compete. That is the thinking behind reducing regulations for businesses. The same should apply for individual Buckeyes.