U.S. Gives Florida a Sweeping Right to Curb Medicaid

NY Times ^ | 10/20/5 | Robert Pear

[Crackingham]

The Bush administration approved a sweeping Medicaid plan for Florida on Wednesday that limits spending for many of the 2.2 million beneficiaries there and gives private health plans new freedom to limit benefits.

The Florida program, likely to be a model for many other states, shifts from the traditional Medicaid "defined benefit" plan to a "defined contribution" plan, under which the state sets a ceiling on spending for each recipient.

Children under the age of 21 and pregnant women will be exempt from the limits.

The Florida plan says, "The state will set aside a specific amount of money for each person enrolled in Medicaid," based on the person's medical condition and historic use of health care.

Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of health and human services, approved the proposal 16 days after it was formally submitted to him, with strong support from Gov. Jeb Bush.

After meeting here on Wednesday afternoon with Governor Bush, Mr. Leavitt said: "Today will be remembered as a day of transformation for the Florida Medicaid program. Florida's framework will be helpful to other states."

Joan C. Alker, a senior researcher at the Health Policy Institute of Georgetown University, said: "Florida's proposal is one of the most far-reaching and radical proposals we've seen to restructure Medicaid. The federal government and the states now decide which benefits people get. Under the Florida plan, many of those decisions will be made by private health plans, out of public view."

Vernon K. Smith, a former Medicaid director in Michigan who is now a consultant to many states, said: "Florida's program is groundbreaking. Every other state will be watching Florida's experience. South Carolina has developed a similar proposal. Georgia and Kentucky are waiting in the wings."

[NautiNurse]

bookmark

[PeterPrinciple]

This will be a strong encouragement for the HSA medicare plan which I think is a good idea.

[Froufrou]

"Children under the age of 21 and pregnant women will be exempt from the limits.

The Florida plan says, "The state will set aside a specific amount of money for each person enrolled in Medicaid," based on the person's medical condition and historic use of health care."

The first sentence will be "overlooked" by media and the result will be chaos in FL. The second statement is the loaded gun. MHMR will be inundated!

BTDT -- was a welfare worker in TX for 5+ years.

[Wiseghy]

Medicaide the elephant in the room when it comes to out of control, totally unaccountable and unreformed goverment spending. For Democrats, it has become the backdoor way into a national healthcare plan.

It is a program that is crying for innovation and reform that will provide more benefits for less money. Just about any change will move the current black-hole of spending in that direction.

[tom h]

"U.S. Gives Florida a Sweeping Right to Curb Medicaid"

"The Bush administration approved a sweeping Medicaid plan for Florida on Wednesday that limits spending for many of the 2.2 million beneficiaries there and gives private health plans new freedom to limit benefits. "

The population of Florida is currently 17 million. That means that 12% of the population is on Medicaid. Imagine that. That means the ratio of taxpayer to recipient is 8:1. If each Medicaid recipient consumes $8,000 in services that means each taxpayer is paying $1,000 for the health care of someone else.

This is what really ticks me off ... whether it's an indigent welfare mother or an illegal alien ... Florida residents, or others across the nation, should NOT be paying $1,000 in taxes for someone who should be providing for themselves.