As 40th Anniversary Nears, Battle Over Medicaid Remains Contentious
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 7/29/2005
As the nation prepares to celebrate 40 years of Medicaid this Saturday, Congress, the National Governors' Association (NGA) and concerned advocacy organizations are sparring over the federal government's plan to cut Medicaid funding by $10 billion over the next five years.Medicaid currently serves more than 50 million Americans. It was authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act of 1965 and is funded equally by the federal government and the states and administered by the states.
It was intended to provide healthcare to low-income Americans who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.
Advocacy groups argue that Medicaid has been targeted by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt as the source for the $10 billion in budget cuts required by the budget resolution Congress adopted on April 28.
Leavitt has appointed a Medicaid Commission to examine the future of the program. In a statement released on July 27, the date of the first Commission meeting, Leavitt said, "Medicaid is not living up to its potential, and it's becoming financially unsustainable."
According to Families USA, any changes that affect the number of people who receive Medicaid, the quality of the Medicaid package, or changes that shift the burden of funding Medicaid to the states would weaken the system overall. The group has offered guiding principles for Congress that include ways Medicaid savings can be achieved while at the same time protecting from harm the individuals Medicaid was designed to serve.
NGA, led by Gov. Mike Huckabee, R. Ark. and Gov. Mark R. Warner, D. Va., presented Congress with a proposal designed to counter the more significant cuts proposed by the Bush administration and give states more flexibility to administer the program. It includes recommendations to decrease prescription drug costs, allowing more co-pays and providing greater ability to structure benefits packages for recipients.
Concerned with the effects the NGA proposal would have on beneficiaries, Families USA executive director, Ron Pollack said in a statement released on July 15, "Proposed improvements aimed at containing the costs of prescription drugs that are purchased by Medicaid merit serious attention and support...However, the NGA recommendations also contain far-reaching, structural changes that would be very harmful to seniors, children, and people with disabilities..."
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) executive director Robert Greenstein highlighted the funding tension between states and the federal government, stating, "Governors are trying to recommend policies that would reduce federal spending without shifting burden to states. Unfortunately, some NGA recommendations would shift substantial costs to the nation's poorest and most vulnerable citizens instead."
The Medicaid Commission must make recommendations about how to achieve the $10 billion cuts by September 1. It must also issue a comprehensive report on long-term changes to the program by December 31, 2006.
