Paul, there aren’t a bunch of quick solutions to the Medicaid problem.
For poor older folks, I’m not sure there will ever be one. Some form of bidding process might help, with health care players bidding as low as possible to get that business. Other than that, I don’t see a fix there.
As for folks who are financially strapped and still need health care on the government dime, I’d say the best way to reduce the Medicaid costs in the fifty states, is to create more jobs, get people back to work, and let them start picking up the costs of insurance, either personally, or through work.
We should be able to reduce those Medicaid rolls for 25-50% of the people on it. Some of the folks aren’t seniors. They can work, and should.
I am sorry to hear of your situation. I know that it is replayed in millions of households across the nation.
I wish there were quick fixes, but there aren’t any.
It seems to me that careful planning would alleviate part of this. We need to overhaul our SS and retirement service programs. We need to make people owners of their plans, and more responsible for their long term situation.
Of course some folks will always fall through the cracks. I still think we can minimize those numbers over time.
We need to get to work on this, so in 10, 20, 30, 40+ years on, we don’t have anywhere near this type of situation any longer.
Best of luck to you.
One third of my entire state is on Medicaid, and 65 percent of all children in my county are on it. One third of the local pediatricians left the state not long ago because the Medicaid reimbursement rates tumbled, while the ‘administrative costs’ associated with the program are 15 percent - more than double that of commercial health care insurers.
Unfortunately we have plenty of jobs - along with plenty of people who don’t desire to work. Why bother working when they have 42 separate state programs to funnel money to them?
Further, until the average income person, not the poor, the average income person, who also works hard and plans very well, can get through life without heavy gov't support* of their healthcare costs and not be bankrupted at the end, we are only tinkering around the edges.
*(in any of its many forms)
I'll try to get back to you further on this - right now... Let's just say I'm pretty busy with a parents' care situation. And, I want to make a short post on another thread B4 I crash, tonight. :-)