Eleven months ago, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) was created by Congress. The Commission is supposed to review the policies, including payment policies, that affect the access of children to the services provided through Medicaid and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program. Two weeks ago, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced the appointment of the 17 MACPAC members. The Commission’s first report to Congress making recommendations is due in 36 business days. The appointees themselves are first rate, no one would dispute the credentials of the …
Christmas is coming early for a few lucky states including Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Vermont. But their good fortune will come at the expense of other states. Overall, the government health care plan is still alive and well in Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) manager’s amendment released this morning, hiding in the form of expanding Medicaid eligibility and inserting State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) rules into the Exchange. First, the winning states. Nebraska and Hawaii are easily identifiable because the Reid amendment specifies their sweetheart deals by name. While …
Confronted by discrepancies in the number of jobs created by the stimulus bill, officials in the Obama Administration eventually were forced to concede that their numbers could not stand up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, the lesson appears to have been lost on the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in its exuberance to fire up public support for health care legislation. Once again, the Administration appears to be fudging the numbers. The Administration’s website, HealthReform.Gov, which is maintained by DHHS, includes a feature, Health Insurance Reform and Your State: The …
In an arrogant and somewhat bizarre display of disinformation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is feeding local news sources with “new reports” about health insurance “reform.” Local stories have started appearing, citing new reports from HHS. A story out of northwest Indiana, for example, cites “… a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” Given the Senate vote last Saturday, HHS clearly wants to create the impression that good news is just around the corner as a result of the legislation …
The House and Senate health care legislation resembles a game show more than deliberate exercise in public policy. As confusing and confused legislation language is translated into dollars and cents, how much Americans will find themselves paying for health care? It looks more and more like a giant game of chance. Not only is Congress leaving the current inequities created by the federal tax treatment of health insurance in place, it is busy creating new ones. Family Premiums. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that under the House bill, the …
The 2074 page Reid Health Bill (H.R. 3590) generally follows the Senate Finance and HELP versions on Medicaid and in the creation of a new health care program, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. Curiously, in the short term (2010-2013), the Reid bill helps fewer people gain coverage than the Senate Finance bill. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates 2 million will lose Medicaid/SCHIP coverage each year in this period compared to current law. But, by 2019, Medicaid/SCHIP enrollment will increase by 15 million, accounting for nearly …
Ironically, the very first group to feel the effects of the pending federal government takeover of the health care system are among the closest political allies of President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—those who strongly support the cause of “abortion rights”. Opponents of the latest House restriction on taxpayer funding of abortion are trying to argue that they merely desire to preserve the status quo. They apparently failed to grasp what conservatives have been warning them, and everyone else who will listen, all along—the status quo cannot, and will …
In his September address to the joint session of Congress, President Obama stated he would be the last President to take on health care. Perhaps, but that may be at the cost of everything else, including education. By expanding Medicaid in the health care bill, Congress will set off political tornadoes across the country that will leave governors and state legislators to clean up afterward. The math is simple. State revenues are still in a slump and will continue for a least a few more years. The two largest state …
AARP has endorsed the Pelosi health bill, H.R. 3962, but in reviewing the list of ten reasons it has given for its support and comparing those reasons to the bill itself, its advocacy for the legislation seems misplaced. There is a massive disconnect between several of the reasons for support and the bill itself. The inconsistencies include: Protecting and strengthening Medicare—the bill cuts Medicare payments to providers including hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies which AARP historically has not viewed as protecting the program. Moreover, the bill does not …
Last week, Speaker Pelosi and the House leadership introduced their 1,900 page health care monstrosity, H.R. 3962. But they have not taken the bill to the House floor as they prepare yet another version called a “manager’s amendment.” This manager’s amendment will sweep in new provisions targeted to specific members of Congress in order to get their support on behalf of some special interest group. These will be a style of earmarks that may be hard to trace back to its source. Some will be undecipherable, directing more favorable Medicare …
