Comments (15) | Add a comment
Group says Medicaid block grants would hurt Nevada
Tools
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- A health care advocacy group sounded a warning Thursday for Nevada, saying a plan to convert Medicaid into state block grants would lead to $6.9 billion in cuts to the Silver State over the next decade.
Reductions in the federal share of Medicaid inevitably would cause governors and legislatures to consider tightening eligibility for recipients, reduce benefits, or cut payments to doctors and hospitals to where some may refuse to participate in the program, according to Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.
"I don't know what combination will occur in Nevada or any other state but those are the things that undoubtedly are going to happen in one form or another," Pollack said.
"It is going to mean a lot of people who would get help under the current program are going to lose that help," he added.
Families USA, a nonpartisan consumer health group, issued a report critical of the plan unveiled this week by Republicans in the House that seeks to reduce the federal deficit by $5 trillion over a decade through long-term spending cuts and by making dramatic changes to Medicare and Medicaid.
The Families USA report states that the Republican plan would shift $1.4 trillion out of Medicaid by 2021, about a one-third reduction in federal support, in part by capping the block grants.
For Nevada, the group said it would cut $2.9 billion from the state's current program over time, and another $4 billion by eliminating an expansion of Medicaid set for 2014 in the health reform law passed last year.
The advocacy group's study echoed one issued on Capitol Hill by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. In a report compiled by Democratic policy analysts, Reid said the GOP budget plan would "force at least 136,000 Nevadans off Medicaid."
Because Nevada's Medicaid expenditure level of $4,586 per enrollee is below average among states, a block grant based on current spending would cement the state's low standing at a time its elderly population is growing, Reid said.
The Republican plan "would require larger and larger Medicaid cuts over time, just as more seniors require Medicaid and health care costs continue to rise," Democrats said.
But Republicans in their budget plan said Medicaid "is coming apart at the seams, and costs will be "nearly impossible to check" without changes.
Medicaid costs in 2009 were $378.6 billion, said the proposal authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Absent reform, costs are expected to reach $840 billion by 2019.
Ryan promised block grants would be "tailored to meet each state's needs, indexed for inflation and population growth." Freed of federal requirements, states would "offer their Medicaid populations more options and better access to care."
Nevada Republican Reps. Dean Heller and Joe Heck said this week they supported the plan.
Gov. Brian Sandoval was silent when asked Thursday through a spokeswoman. "We have not taken a position on this," said Mary Sarah Kinner.
Charles Duarte, Nevada Medicaid administrator, said he was studying the proposal. "The idea of a block grant can be a good thing if the flexibility is there and if the methodology for calculating the grant allocation is fair and reasonable," he said.
At first glance, he said, that does not seem to be the case with the Ryan plan. It seems to tie grants to a general rate of inflation while Duarte said it should be linked to the inflation rate for medical costs, which run two to three times higher.
And while the Republican proposal would index grants to state population growth, Duarte said it would be fairer if they were linked to employment, since Medicaid caseloads rise and fall -- mostly rising in Nevada -- based on the job picture.
The number of Nevadans enrolled in Medicaid is expected to grow from 280,000 presently to 312,000 by 2013 before leveling off, Duarte said.
"Neither index method is good for our state," Duarte said. "They are good for the federal government. Governors need to take a close look at this."
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Gary d... You are the worst kind of racist there is! I know senior citizens that need medicaid because they can't afford the deductions from their SS that medicare costs. Get real, get a life and go home to your orginal country that your for-fathers are from.
Blackhat: So what's your point? We get federal death panels or state death panels. I don't see the distinction. How about we elimninate medicaid altogether for anyone not eligible for social security disability benefits and medicare (i.e. elderly and disabled). Anyone else should be shepherded into another program where they are required to provide some service for the government benefits they receive. After all, I have to work to make the money I give them in taxes and they shouldn't get off free. Problem solved, no death panels. See, this is what compromise looks like.
Medicare just approved a $93,000 drug for prostate cancer, Provenge, that lengthens life by just 4 months on average. For the same amount Medicaid could cover 20 people for a year. What private insurance costs just $4500 a year and provides the same benefits? Government healthcare is MORE efficient (VA anyone). We need to get our priorities straight in this country of 40 million uninsured Americans. There is too much suffering.
Finally (48 hours) time limit to buy.
LV Muffler $ 5.99
LV Bags $ 19.9
LV Wallet $ 6.55
Armani Glasses $ 5.99
LV Belt $ 6.9
Buy addresses-
--- www.ashops.us---or---www.topshop22.com
Tips (48 hours after the special product is invalid)
Are White people eligible for all these "FREE" programs, or is it just Blacks, Illegals and their anchor babies that can benefit ???
If the federal gov't is going to provide block grants for Medicaid, it seems like a perfect time for them to get out of the business all together. Reduce our federal taxes by the amount we contribute for Medicaid, then let Nevadan's decide how much money we need to spend and what the level of coverage should be. This way we won't be subject to coverage level mandates from Washington politicians, or formulas for how the money is distributed. You know the future funding formula will favor the more powerful states and the coverage mandates will continue to increase the burden on the states as long as the bleeding hearts in congress continue to have control. Local (state) control is the first step in getting the cost of medicaid and other federal programs under control.
What exactly is Medicaid? Some sort of health care coverage for the "poor"? I thought the "poor" didn't have any health care and needed Obama Care? Make up your minds,lib crapstains!
Love the way big government liberals try and fool us by changing the definition of words. When most people read "disabled" they think of someone in a wheelchair. Oh no, the liberals have created a government definition that includes alcoholics, and people who "feel depressed." I define alcoholics and people who feel depressed as loafers and bums. The real hurt is going to come when Reid, Obama, the unions and the liberal bankers on Wall Street (placate the masses) bankrupt the country with spending.
Of course Heller and Heck support the plan. They have Cadillac coverage in Congress like the rest of us will never see. When they participate in Medicaid as consumers, then I will be on their side!
What a crock of ****, get some facts, of course that is not what almost all republicans and baggers would ever lower themselves to is FACTS. One of the most respected research groups, the Kaiser Family show that for the FY2007 Distribution of Medicaid Payments by Enrollment Group for US: Children 20.5%; Adults 12.4%; Elderly 24.7%; Disabled 42.4%. These figures show Medicaid goes mostly to the elderly and disabled.
Now with the republican plan of block grants to the states it will finally come to pass what the conservatives and baggers predicted, the government run "death panels" as state governments get involved in who gets coverage and what coverage is available is limited and reduced by the legislators.