Bernalillo County Commission unanimously adopted a resolution asking the Legislature to develop a Medicaid buy-in program. But Medicaid is a very expensive program that imposes an ever-growing burden on state and federal taxpayers.
KOB TV (much to their credit) wasn’t satisfied with simply reciting talking points from advocates for Medicaid and Medicaid expansion. Instead, reporter Patrick Hayes actually talked to BOTH SIDES on this issue and allowed me to explain that there are real drawbacks to all that “free” money. Check out the well-done and relatively in-depth story below:
Apart from the bizarre “welfare is economic development” argument, the Medicaid buy-in proposal is yet another measure to increase demand for healthcare without increasing the supply or lowering the cost. Because 30% of physicians do not accept Medicaid patients, a buy-in program would force the poor and disabled to compete for a shrinking pool of doctors.
A few years ago, I shuddered when I heard the director of the Sandoval Economic Alliance say that Sandival County would continue to rely on healthcare and education to fuel growth in the our county. In other words, let’s rely on the government!
Please look over the July 2018 report of the Health & Human Services- Office of Inspector General on the weakness of managed care organization (MCOs) w/ Medicaid administration. https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-02-15-00260.pdf
They generally rake in approx. 15% cut, w/ NONE of their firm’s money at risk. There’s virtually no incentive to report fraud, waste & abuses in the Medicaid program. Heck, the larger the extent of fraud, the larger their cut of the pie. Large provider stakeholders who scam the Medicaid program represent the golden goose of MCOs.
Want to see a classic example of the failures of MCOs to administer taxpayer money? Check out the current legal battle in Texas over the dental MCO operated by Xerox.
Michael W Davis, DDS
Santa Fe, NM
Note that 2/3 of Medicaid cost, approximately, is paid by the feds. US he healthcare system is most expensive the world for a number of reasons Bashing Medicaid and ignoring every other problem, such as salaries of executives, the way services are billed, and # of physicians, is simplistic and shortsighted.
The price of American health care is driven by the third party payment system which includes government. Medicaid is a deeply flawed and waste/fraud ridden system.