Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Health Reform made a number of changes for State’s health care policies. But states themselves have also been enacting legislation to alter health care payment policies and regulations. The CHCF describes some examples of legislative changes in California: Safety Net Care Pool (SNCP) – covers uncompensated costs in public hospitals and finances other state health…
…and three other questions about physician care. Do Medicare patients have shorter waiting times than those with commercial insurance? In the 2010 survey, among those seeking an appointment, most beneficiaries (75 percent) and most privately insured individuals (72 percent) reported “never” having to wait longer than they wanted for an appointment for routine care. Another…
Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget proposal has made significant waves. Many will fear that the Ryan proposal means the end of Medicare and Medicaid. Although these programs will not end, there will be significant changes. One can think of many of these changes as a transfer of risk. Consider the Medicare program. Although Medicare will not…
Medicaid provides a safety net for the poorest Americans. Although eligibility criteria vary from state to state, the health service Medicaid provides are often life saving. One of the main problems Medicaid beneficiaries experience, however, is access to care. Many physicians do not accept Medicaid because the reimbursement rates are much lower than those paid…
Health Reform will of course increase Medicaid spending as more people become eligible for this entitlement. Yet this is not the only reason Medicaid costs will rise due to Health Reform. From a working paper by Jagadeesh Gokhale. “Once ObamaCare becomes fully effective in 2014, the cost of newly eligible Medicaid enrollees will be almost fully covered…
The increased use of long-term care (LTC) services has been one of the forces increasing health care cost and utilization. Currently, 10.3 million Americans use LTC services. The Kaiser Family Foundation provides a summary of LTC Services and Supports in the U.S. Who uses LTC? One can divide LTC services into those who receive care…
The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) reviews how California’s safety net residents receive medical care. Safety Net patients are considered those who have incomes below 300% of the federal poverty line. Below is a list of governmental and non-governmental programs which serve California Safety Net residents. State: Medi-cal (California’s Medicaid program) and Healthy Families (California’s CHIP…
“…in order to prevent undocumented families from obtaining benefits illicitly, a problem that could not even be verified, Congress mandated (under a provision of th eDRA) that all Medicaid recipients must submit proof of their citizenship and identity. Implemented in 2006, everyone subject ot the new law has to produce a birth certificate, passport, certificate…
Although Medicaid receives significant federal funding, States run each program. This often leads to problems when residents of one state wish to receive care in another state. This could occur if the Medicaid beneficiary is a snow-bird, or lives in one state and works in another. Hurricane Katrina, however, highlights best the problems of a…
Fraudulent providers can rob taxpayers of money due to Medicaid beneficiaries. Fraudulent offenses include: billing Medicaid for services provided to patients ineligible for Medicaid; billing for services not rendered; upcoding (i.e., charging for more expensive services or equipment that the patient received); providing inappropriate, risky or unncessrary treatments; requesting reimubrsement for care provided by unlicensed…