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Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford continues to oppose Medicaid expansion, but, like almost every state official, is under intense pressure to offer an alternative proposal. He announced a plan yesterday that would use state funds to expand coverage, tailor benefits to different patient groups, and give people the option of a Healthy Indiana-type health spending account.  An estimated 115,000 … [Read more...] about Florida Speaker Offers Alternative to Medicaid Expansion

By Chris Jacobs According to the Congressional Budget Office’s most recent baselines, the federal government will spend a total of $6.87 trillion on Medicare and $4.36 trillion on Medicaid over the next ten years – that’s $11.2 trillion total, not even counting additional state spending on Medicaid.  Yet President Obama’s budget, released today, contains net deficit savings of only $152 billion … [Read more...] about Budget Summary — Obama’s “One Percent” Solution

Administration Rules Out "Deals" on Medicaid Expansion By Edmund Haislmaier, The Heritage Foundation     Last Friday afternoon, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a short frequently asked questions (FAQ) document that should remove any remaining belief that the federal government will give state lawmakers flexibility on the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. The … [Read more...] about Haislmaier: Arkansas Deal is a Dud

In yet another example of the “colluding capitalism” that will propagate under ObamaCare, The Washington Examiner uncovers an example of the growing scandal of waste and abuse in spending under the health law.  The piece is entitled: “Groups led by inside trader, child abuser got Obamacare co-op loans.” It begins: Federal officials approved Obamacare loans totaling $127 million last year to groups … [Read more...] about Colluding capitalism under ObamaCare

Jordan Rau of Kaiser Health News writes about a new study showing death rates are rising at rural hospitals, and Medicare's prop-up payments aren't helping. For 15 years, Congress has bestowed special privileges to some small remote hospitals, usually in rural areas, to help them stay afloat. Medicare pays them more than it pays most hospitals and exempts them from financial pressure to operate … [Read more...] about KHN: Death Rates Rise at Rural Hospitals

by Thomas P. Miller Finding economically feasible and politically safe options for cutting costs in Medicare has proven to be no easy task. A variety of government organizations, including the Congressional Budget Office and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, and health policy researchers, such as MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, have put forth plans to improve the program, but they often … [Read more...] about Miller on Medicare: Daring to be Cautious

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said on Wednesday in an address to a joint convention of the General Assembly that he will not pursue expanding the state’s version of Medicaid, called TennCare.  The health overhaul law, known as ObamaCare, allows states to expand Medicaid to families earning up to $30,000 a year, but the governor clearly recognizes the hidden costs of expansion.  He can be a leader … [Read more...] about Tennessee Gov. decides against Medicaid expansion

Jim Capretta explains clearly to any governor thinking about expanding Medicaid why this is a short-sighted, destructive idea.  His piece at National Review Online is entitled “End Medicaid’s Crony Federalism.  GOP governors should refuse the White House’s deals and fight for Medicaid reform.” Capretta, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Institute, says that the Obama administration is … [Read more...] about Demand real Medicaid reform