The federal government would back away from micromanaging the program, and States would be given broad discretion on how to determine eligibility and administrate the program.
In 2017, when the now deceased Senator McCain famously cast the deciding vote to stop any Obamacare changes, the bill in front of him was not a true repeal; it was to establish Medicaid state block grants and to get control of the massive Obamacare increase in Medicaid federal spending. Blinded by his hate of President Trump, Senator McCain violated his campaign promise to begin the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.
If America is to ever rein in federal Medicaid spending, block grants must happen.
It is up to the states to innovate and drive the needed change to make Medicaid viable. The first essential action is to force America’s health care providers to clean up their own houses. All licenses for hospitals, surgical centers, RediCare facilities, freestanding imaging centers, private cancer centers, cosmetic centers, physicians, dentists, oral surgeons, physical therapists, and podiatrists will be contingent on accepting Medicaid.
Review
“Other people are paying so who cares.”
Bullshit word. Going on the list.
Medicaid is socialized healthcare, it is what the marxists want for all citizens.
There — I corrected it. Outside the military, Congress and the White House, and perhaps some clinics on Indian reservations, the U.S. government doesn’t treat any medical issues for anyone.
There’s no way to “fix” health care unless third-party payment as the standard means of paying for it comes to an end. And it doesn’t matter if the “third party” in question is a government agency or a private insurance company.
While block grants make perfect sense, it will never happen
ONLY Fed.gov has the “balance sheet” to support an ever-growing Ponzi-scheme like that. They can borrow endlessly, with printed Federal Reserve fiat notes. States can’t do that. Everyone with any brains in DC knows it, but no one will say it - because the same thing applies to every leftist Fed.gov social-engineering scheme and military adventure. Thus Fed.gov must always be in the lead.
My solution would be “health free enterprise zones” - literally set aside one or two areas in a state or city where doctors would have offices, and private hospitals would be built - where only cash is accepted, taxes are low, and Fed.gov rules do not apply.
Keep the old, corrupt system which has too many vested interests and thus is impossible to reform - but give people choice by allowing a completely free system to develop alongside it, because it will be needed as the old system crumbles.
I COULD work better, but any program run by government bureaucrats is bound to fail.
Take the millions of illegal aliens off of Medicaid - problem solved.
* gets letter from IRS
* letter is ad for healthcare.gov
* ponders the interrelationship between revenue department, government and health racketeering
while lighting a nice stove fire with letter
Medicare for all?
Why am I wrong?
Folks with plenty will always have choices. One of the greatest things about wealth: it creates opportunities and choices.
Everyone else have limited options.
If your fellow Citizens matter to you, why not have a public option for health care and services?
Not Cadillac Care, but why not Chevette Care?
Keep people healthy and avoid huge costs. Obesity, alcohol and drug addiction cost plenty. Want help? Stop doing what you’re doing, or let em die in the street.
In one generation, the entire country will change.
welfareRATS using the ER as a PCP alone will kill it
The Medicaid funding is wrong to begin with.
It never should have been established that the Federal share would be 50% of whatever a state’s Medicaid costs were. That formula rewards states who (1) set more generous programs and (2) have higher than average costs.
The initial Federal porttion should have been set as not more than 50% of the national median costs for an equal number of medicaid patients serve. That would put the onus on the states to better control their own state’s medicaid spending.
That most of all, and more than the many new Federal requiremnets that the author proposes, should be the start of Medicaid reform.
“All licenses for hospitals, surgical centers, RediCare facilities, freestanding imaging centers, private cancer centers, cosmetic centers, physicians, dentists, oral surgeons, physical therapists, and podiatrists will be contingent on accepting Medicaid.”
This would spell the death of private health care and pave the quickest way to a “National Health Care System “.
Medicaid pays at best less than 50% of cost. Our systems are overwhelmed as is, can you imagine adding millions / state of illegal immigrants using a payment card that has to be taken and pays the service about 30% of cost? Our hospitals are already going bankrupt mostly from Medicaid patients. Medicaid denies or doesn’t pay for so many services. This is a terrible idea unless we want our private health care system to go bankrupt. An event that would make the 2007-9 housing collapse look like a radar blip. Hard no.
In a couple of years the med beds will roll out and this issue will disappear into thin air.
Whole health care system will collapse.
It’s the plan Obamacare was the gateway for socialized medicine the democrats will never give up on the idea of full socialism.
It’s what the party is founded on
Terrible idea. You can’t force clinicians to accept medicaid just to keep a broken system going. The system needs to be re-written from the bottom up... without all the lobbyist influence.