Coming to a state near you, folks...US gives FLA rights to curb Medicaid

[cynatnite]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 - The Bush administration approved a sweeping Medicaid plan for Florida on Wednesday that limits spending for many of the 2.2 million beneficiaries there and gives private health plans new freedom to limit benefits.

The Florida program, likely to be a model for many other states, shifts from the traditional Medicaid "defined benefit" plan to a "defined contribution" plan, under which the state sets a ceiling on spending for each recipient.

Children under the age of 21 and pregnant women will be exempt from the limits.

The Florida plan says, "The state will set aside a specific amount of money for each person enrolled in Medicaid," based on the person's medical condition and historic use of health care.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/national/20medicaid.html?hp&ex=1129867200&en=e2b5f8d34716c252&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[sandnsea]

1. This is good in one way, stay with me

Dump the whole kit and kaboodle into the insurance industry's lap. Then there aren't any more excuses, either private insurance and private hospitals work, or they don't. Oregon has a subsidized health insurance program and I was thinking the other day they ought to just stick the whole medicaid program in it. The state pays a premium and the insurance companies have to deal with how to pay the bills. No more excuses about hospitals having to cover low medicaid reimbursements, no more excuses about premiums covering costs not paid, bla bla. It's all between insurance and hospitals and doctors and they have to figure it out.

Hope too many people don't suffer while the thing crashes down, but this is what it's going to take I'm afraid.

[Lasher]

2. Another thread on the subject

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1863389

[cornermouse]

3. Returning to the days of yore when people died.

Sounds like they're taking what they did in Missouri on to the national level. I guess Missouri was a trial run after all.

On thinking it over, could they be in such a rush because Bush is rapidly approaching lame duck status?