The Future of Medicaid is NOT in Good Hands
Compiled by Don McCanne, Quote of the Day Newsletter
Reuters
May 13, 2005
Medicaid commission draws unusual interest
By Julie Rovner
When it
comes to the Medicaid health program for the poor, the question in
Washington has moved from whether to cut the program to how.
Six
Republican and six Democratic senators wrote Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt earlier this week, urging that he turn the
entire enterprise over to the nonpartisan Institute of Medicine.
That,
however, is apparently not what the administration has in mind. Leavitt
said Wednesday he is moving “rapidly” to establish the commission,
which sources say he will appoint himself rather than delegate the task
to the IoM.
(Source)
And…
The New York Times
May 12, 2005
New Panel Will Study Medicaid With Eyes Toward Big Changes
By Robert Pear
The
commission will have up to 15 voting members and 18 nonvoting members.
The voting members will all be appointed by Michael O. Leavitt, the
secretary of health and human services. Mr. Leavitt rejected bipartisan
Congressional pleas for an independent commission under the auspices of
the National Academy of Sciences.
(Source)
And…
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report
May 10, 2005
Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), speaking on the Senate floor
before the budget was approved, said Leavitt will appoint the
commission in a manner that “represent[s] a broad range of ideas and
points of view.” He added that the commission will be “a fair and
balanced forum to discuss the needs and challenges of the Medicaid
system.”
(Source)
Comment by Don McCanne:
The decision has already been made that the underfunded Medicaid
program will be cut further. The process will be personally supervised
by HHS Secretary Leavitt rather than being submitted to a highly
credible, independent source: the Institute of Medicine. Secretary
Leavitt's decision is particularly alarming since he has a track record
on his approach to reducing Medicaid spending. When he was governor of
Utah, he eliminated coverage for hospitalization and specialized
services.
But we
have the assurances of the Senate Majority Leader, Dr. Bill Frist, that
the commission will be “fair and balanced.” It is ironic that Dr. Frist
chose the “registered trademark” phrase of Fox News. Since “Fair and
Balanced” has been reduced to a mere trademark label, it seems that
this absolves Fox from being either fair or balanced.
The
question is, does Dr. Frist believe that this absolves Secretary
Leavitt from the responsibility of being fair and balanced? Or is he
acknowledging, tongue-in-cheek, that the whole process is a farce and
cannot lead to constructive change? Unfortunately, based on his own
track record, it appears that Dr. Frist is supporting an unfair and
imbalanced process that portends a bleak future for Medicaid patients.
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