|
Orie Introduces Medicaid Reform Measure to
Control
Skyrocketing Costs & Improve System
HARRISBURG -- Senator
Jane Orie (R-Pittsburgh) is sponsoring a major Medicaid reform measure aimed at
controlling skyrocketing costs and ensuring that benefits are effectively
managed.
Orie, who chairs the Senate
Aging and Youth Committee, said the measure is crucial to holding down
increasingly high costs that are straining state budgets. According to recent
studies, if cost containment measures are not implemented, many states will be
forced to spend 80 percent to 100 percent of their state budgets on Medicaid by
the year 2020.
Her legislation is similar to
a measure passed by Florida, and introduced in three other states, South
Carolina, Colorado, and Georgia, and would restructure the way Pennsylvania
provides Medicaid benefits.
Under the current system,
costs are high because any person who is eligible for Medicaid is automatically
entitled to full benefits. Orie's legislation would establish a pilot program
using a "defined contribution" structure.
Under this pilot program, the
state would provide a certain contribution of money through which a Medicaid
beneficiary could purchase a plan for the benefits that he or she needs. The
bill would provide for independent brokers to help beneficiaries purchase
portable insurance.
"Allowing the Medicaid
consumers to purchase their own insurance gives them more responsibility for
their health care, and will control costs, because recipients will only buy the
benefits they need," Orie said. "It would enable Medicaid recipients to
purchase portable insurance in the private sector, and that would allow them,
where feasible, to leave the Medicaid rolls sooner. Most importantly, it allows
for market-based consumer choice and saves tax dollars at the same time."
Moreover, because the plans focus on quality of care and consumer satisfaction,
reports from consumers on how satisfied they are with their plans hover in the
90 percent range.
The program also provides for
federal financial participation through a tax credit that can be used to pay for
catastrophic acute and long-term care policies.
"Our goal is to avert a growing crisis by
controlling costs, so that states don't have to raise taxes or cut vital
services," Orie said. "I believe this pilot program is crucial to addressing
the Medicaid crisis now, before costs spiral out of control."
# # #
|
