Medicaid Reorganization : Wisconsin Leads the Way

Wisconsin leads the way to solves some of the rising problems with providing health care for those that need it but fall short of the cost to pay for it. Scott Walker is using the free market and some state and federal agencies to make his plan work.
 
I wonder how many states that are pursuing free market solutions and forward thinking ideas to fix the Medicaid problem for their citizens are Republican?

The bigger problem is,  while ObamaCare is rushing to destroy health care itself by demanding insurance that covers every problem imaginable with rising costs, and the people don't want, many of those that need health care the most won't have access because of the arability of care its self will be diminished and most states are broke the provide Medicaid to these individuals. The only alternative will be to succumb to federal control and thereby come under the iron boot of the progressive socialists.

It appears that Wisconsin is the leader in the effort to provide care for everyone by reorganizing the system that has proven to work. Little wonder Scott Walker and his family have come under attack by liberals that are see a health care failure as an opportunity for control of the population.

Having individuals control their own destines means progressive lose control and that is unacceptable.


Medicaid Expansion: Beyond Yes or No
Source: Angela Boothe, "Medicaid Expansion: Beyond Yes or No," Real Clear Policy, April 1, 2014.
April 4, 2014

Governors across the country are negotiating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement solutions for their Medicaid programs that focus on the needs of their state, rejecting the static, blindly restrictive choice to simply expand or not under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The administration should be welcoming innovative solutions at the state level, not delaying approval or restricting programs from Washington, says Angela Boothe, a health care policy analyst at the American Action Forum.
States (even those not expanding their programs) are facing increasing Medicaid applications and enrollment numbers, signaling new costs and heavy impacts on state budgets. Governors are tasked with the challenge of providing care for those who need it most while managing these growing costs.

• Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently launched a new Medicaid-reform initiative that deems all individuals earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) (and children up to 300 percent FPL) eligible for Medicaid services and moves those above 100 percent of the FPL to the Federally Facilitated Marketplace to receive subsidized coverage.
• With this change, Wisconsin will still provide Medicaid coverage to its poorest and most vulnerable residents, while greatly decreasing the number of individuals on waiting lists for Medicaid services.
• By moving more individuals into the insurance marketplace, Governor Walker's reforms will also place more responsibility for health coverage in the hands of the individuals receiving care.
• Between Medicaid and the exchange, an estimated 224,580 people will receive coverage -- reducing the size of Wisconsin's uninsured population by 47 percent.

Governor Walker is not alone in working to improve Medicaid at the state level.

• Under Governor Mike Beebe, Arkansas is pursuing Medicaid expansion using a market-based approach for its uninsured population of over 500,000.
• Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has a plan that encourages individuals to move into the workforce.
• Other states have implemented personal-responsibility provisions in their Medicaid programs as well, including Indiana and Oklahoma. Yet these programs will be phased out due to the restrictions imposed by ObamaCare.

There is no silver bullet for bending the Medicaid cost curve and these are ideas we should be exploring. Governors are ready to innovate, but they need a willing partner in CMS.