Is ObamaCare Discriminating Against the Disabled?
This is Gov. Bobby Jindal:
The federal government provides funds to states matching their Medicaid contributions. But ObamaCare includes a twist: The law provides a richer federal match for states’ coverage of childless adults than Medicaid programs receive for covering individuals with disabilities. I’ll say that again: ObamaCare prioritizes Medicaid coverage of childless adults over care for persons with disabilities. That’s a case of skewed priorities if I ever heard of one.
…[M]y proposed budget for this year directs $26 million in new funding to home and community-based services for elderly individuals and persons with disabilities. We’re focused on improving the quality of care, and giving individuals with disabilities more choices. We’ve already increased the number of individuals receiving home and community-based care by 5,000, and this year’s funding increase will ultimately reduce our waiting list for services by over 4,000.
But while we’re focused on improving the quality of care provided and reducing waiting lists for persons with disabilities, Liberals would rather our state use those resources to participate in ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion. Liberal groups like MoveOn.org won’t say one word about caring for individuals with disabilities, or how ObamaCare prioritizes coverage of childless adults ahead of the most vulnerable — they just want to intimidate states into accepting ObamaCare’s massive new spending programs.
He should give some specifics. As we know, at least in the past, Medicaid has largely not covered childless adults. If what he suggests is that more money is now going, proportionately, to cover people who have never before been eligible, I am not sure how you avoid that as it is just simple math.
Before election season vagueness is his best friend
Specificity could only hurt him
Medicaid has always covered childless adults who met disability criteria or who had incomes that were low enough. That was the reason it was created.
The point is that the program has been changed from focusing on delivering medical care to the seriously ill or disabled to a coverage program aimed at mostly healthy children and adults. The internal rules have generally remained the same, with predictable results.
The results include out-of-control expenditures that provide lousy care thanks to the continual restrictions that centralized cost control always imposes. There are continual calls by people who want to control expenditures to stop spending so much on just a few people, the seriously ill and disabled.
Medicaid managed care, the supposed answer to the problem, has increased costs. But it fits the mainstream health policy template so the cost increase is ignored. The seriously ill and disabled find it harder to see specialists, harder to get the drugs they need due to restrictive formularies, and harder to get the home care that keeps them alive.
At the same time, reimbursements were cut to a variety of specialists and physicians in private practice, but increased for the federally qualified health clinics that serve the mostly healthy. The latest fad was increasing Medicaid reimbursements to match Medicare reimbursements–at the same time Obamacare was cutting Medicare reimbursements.
Very helpful explanation!
Yes, thanks Linda! It seems as though our government refuses to think of costs now and only strives to add more programs
Oooh. The lack of details again really hurts. For childless adults, the level of income has to be very, very low in most states, or you may not be eligible at any income level. As a result, only about 12% of Medicaid payments go to childless adults.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0151.pdf
“The point is that the program has been changed from focusing on delivering medical care to the seriously ill or disabled to a coverage program aimed at mostly healthy children and adults. The internal rules have generally remained the same, with predictable results.”
That makes sense.
Dr. King, you are right.
Yes because getting the healthy people better is the right way to do things!
“But I won’t accept lectures in compassion from those who would expand our safety net beyond comprehension, and jeopardize the care of our most vulnerable citizens in the process.”
He is right though in that Americans are suffering right now