Editorials and columnists in several papers around the country pressed officials toward accepting a Medicaid expansion and offered suggestions about implementation. Also, comments continued about a recent study on Medicaid.
Los Angeles Times: A Public Health Compromise For California The Legislature is poised to offer health insurance to millions of additional low-income Californians, with the federal government covering much of the cost. The expansion would be a boon to counties, which collectively spend billions of dollars caring for the indigent uninsured. One sticking point, though, is what to do with the more than $4 billion in sales taxes and vehicle license fees the state has been sending back to counties every year to help pay for public health programs — and that the Brown administration wants to reclaim. Last week a group of nonprofits offered a sensible compromise, proposing that counties keep the funds if they spend them on a more efficient way to deliver care to the needy 5/12.
Boston Globe: A Trust Fund For New Medicaid Funding In 2014, the federal government will send hundreds of millions of dollars to Massachusetts to help pay for an expansion of Medicaid under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. How we use those Medicaid funds will influence whether the state will have the financial resources to sustain that expansion over time. The first step in assuring the Medicaid funds are spent properly and as intended by Congress is to segregate them from the general funds of the state. This should be done by placing the new Medicaid revenues into a trust fund that would be dedicated to support Medicaid and other low-income health care programs. It is an idea that makes sense to many consumer, labor, business, and health care leaders Lynn Nicholas, 5/11.
Lexington Herald-Leader: Medicaid Expansion Right For Ky.; Now Beshear Must Make It All Work We could trot out other depressing indicators — from frequency of diabetes to tooth decay — to explain why Gov. Steve Beshear made the right choice — the only choice, really — by expanding Medicaid. … But heres something that should be even more moving: Universal access wont make a significant difference in Kentuckians health unless health care changes. Some good ideas are swirling around, but they wont take shape without strong leadership from the state, and that means Beshear. Much of Kentucky already suffers from shortages of primary care. Preparing a medical home for every Kentuckian will take hard work, from the loftiest medical faculty to the community and technical colleges, in order to create the capacity and work force to meet the new demand. The whole system must become more efficient and quality conscious 5/12.