Often, a state accepting federal dollars does so with strings attached. Unfortunately, old habits die hard. Even when federal law changes and the strings are severed, programs created by those laws have a pesky habit of sticking around and are rarely repealed by state lawmakers. Frequently, this comes at a greater cost to consumers, taxpayers, or both.
When people receive benefits they’re not supposed to get, that leaves less money for everything else the government does.
For months, advocates for more taxpayer-funded healthcare have warned of a looming drop in Medicaid coverage. They blamed this on the official end of the COVID-19 “public health emergency” and associated relief funds.
But as I pointed out earlier this year, the real issue is that millions of people have been receiving a taxpayer-funded benefit for which they no longer qualify. That’s because the relief funds in question were contingent on states not asking Medicaid enrollees whether they were still eligible for the program. The end of the public health emergency meant that states would resume doing what they had done for the first 50-plus years of Medicaid.
West Virginia is only the latest state to take the step of eliminating restrictive barriers to health care, and Iowa should be the next. Policymakers in Iowa can increase access to health care and improve affordability by eliminating excessive restrictions on the expansion and introduction of facilities. Specifically, Iowa’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws limit patient access and provider competition. […]
CON laws have decreased competition in Iowa’s healthcare field, resulting in higher medical costs and reduced healthcare access. The news has recently been telling stories about Iowa nursing homes closing and rural hospitals at risk. Iowans are facing higher healthcare costs and fewer options, and one reason is an extremely burdensome regulation called Certificate of Need, or CON. Healthcare providers […]
Given the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) recent easing of its COVID-19 guidelines, the national public health emergency appears near its end. The technical end of this emergency declaration will signify that the pandemic is officially over. And while that development will be cause for celebration, it will also trigger a major event for state governments and citizens enrolled in Medicaid.
Every time I write about healthcare reform, I receive at least one comment about the need to get the government out of healthcare entirely. I’m not unsympathetic to this argument, but I think it’s unrealistic.
It is true that industries, which have seen the largest increases in costs over the past few decades, such as healthcare and higher education, are also some of those most highly impacted by government interventions. Since 1965, when the federal government got seriously involved in healthcare with the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, inflation-adjusted per-capita spending on healthcare has increased more than six-fold, to an average of over $12,000 per person today.
Simplistic approaches to reform, such as “Medicare for All”, are unrealistic and would prove inadequate. To address our current healthcare problems, we should look to other countries for ideas, while looking within our own country to see what is possible. Then we can create a uniquely American solution for our citizens.
It is impossible for me to imagine that we will see any meaningful healthcare reform soon. Nothing substantive has been offered by President Joe Biden’s administration, despite earlier declarations that “Obamacare” would be expanded as “Bidencare”. Given the logjam in the Senate, thanks in large part to Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), any proposal which is unlikely to be offered in the next few months seems equally unlikely to pass.
Increasing access to quality health care in Iowa is a priority. Sadly, rural hospitals suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic as many could not offer out-patient procedures, which resulted in a major financial loss and forced some patients to go without care. Many rural hospitals also closed maternity wards and more mental health care providers are needed. To increase access to […]
By Dr. Christopher Peters Between last fall’s election and inauguration day, many of us were speculating about what health care changes we could expect under President Joe Biden. Nearly three months into his presidency, the picture still is not crystal clear. Since President Biden’s inauguration, the administration has reversed some of the healthcare policy decisions enacted under the Trump administration. […]
By Dr. Christopher Peters With President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration due to take over in just over a month the nation will be faced with either a divided Congress or a razor-thin Democratic majority. What might we expect in the realm of healthcare reform in the near future? Probably not much. Democrats maintained their majority in the House, but […]
By Dr. Christopher Peters Right now, we have no choice but to wait for votes to be counted and 2020’s election results to become final. Those tallies will eventually tell us who will not only occupy the Oval Office but also control the United States Congress. While we wait, it’s worth diving into potential changes to our health care […]
Iowa needs to audit the Medicaid program to ensure that not only are the people who truly need the services are protected, but taxpayer dollars are not wasted. Amity Shlaes, an economic historian and author of the just-released Great Society: A New History, argues correctly that the “lesson of the 1960s is that political compromises with progressives can be […]
Fraud and abuse within Medicaid are not only hurting those who truly need services, but it is also fleecing taxpayers. Several states have recently found fraud and abuse within their Medicaid programs. Fraud and abuse within Medicaid are not only hurting those who truly need services, but it is also fleecing taxpayers. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program, which […]
Taxpayer dollars lost to waste, fraud, or abuse are dollars that cannot fund services for those who truly need the services. Beth Wood, who serves as North Carolina State Auditor, reported the “state Department of Health and Human Services improperly paid more than $100 million in Medicaid claims during fiscal year 2018.” The “errors” consisted of “overpayments to providers, along with […]
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