With the nomination of of Mike Leavitt to the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services, President Bush has sent a clear signal of his intentions to drastically reform the Medicaid system. Leavitt, a former governor of Utah, was instrumental in helping Utah secure a waiver from HHS that enabled the state to make significant changes in its Medicaid program.
These changes represented significant trade-offs, namely funding expanded coverage (adding populations not previously covered by Medicaid) by implementing cost sharing for beneficiaries and cutting some benefits.
Mr. Bush has made it quite clear that he intends to move the nation towards the “ownership society”. In the case of Medicaid, the implication is the states will receive block grants of funds from the federal government, funds that they will have significant discretion in regards to how they spend them. According to the LA Times, “In the past, the administration has proposed capping the federal share of Medicaid, currently about $180 billion a year…Medicare faces pressure to cut payments to hospitals and other providers.”
The net result – states will “own” Medicaid, be free to develop and implement their own programs, and do so with minimal interference from the feds.
While this sounds great at first blush, even Republican governors have serious concerns. In essence, their concern is that the President is making Medicaid a “defined contribution” program, thereby limiting the federal government’s future expenditures. This is a marked change from the present “defined benefit” form of Medicaid, where the governments (state and federal) are allocate enough funds to cover the benefits provided to qualified individuals’ costs. Remember, the feds took over the provision of health care to the poor in large part because some states were not doing what federal legislators deemed an adequate job.
In addition to his experience as Utah governor, Mr. Leavitt was head of the EPA and got his start as an insurance broker in Utah. Leavitt is known for his political prowess and willingness to stick to the task. While he will be tasked with Medicare reform and other issues, Leavitt will likely start with Medicaid.
This nomination is the clearest possible signal that Medicaid is in for the biggest change in its forty-some years of existence.
Dec
31
