Democrat From Kentucky


Democrat from Kentucky
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Lt. Gov. Pence Speaks In NKy Friday, October 21, 2005

I picked this up from ChallengerNKY via Bluegrass Report. Pence discusses two big points. One, the budget was NOT revenue neutral and the fact Medicaid is eating any bonuses we might have gained.


Lt. Gov.: Medicaid Debt Devouring Gains

By Jason Feldmann
The Sunday Challenger
jfeldmann@challengernky.com

COVINGTON--Reducing the state's mounting Medicaid debt, the possibility of expanded gaming, and tougher penalties for convicted sexual predators were some of the topics that Lieutenant Governor Steve Pence addressed while speaking at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday, Oct. 14.

On Medicaid, Pence predicted Gov. Ernie Fletcher would "take the lead" during next year's legislative session.

The "huge" Medicaid debt, said Pence, is "eating up every bit of gain that our General Assembly and the governor made this last year."

New revenue from tax modernization is lost because the state "has failed to change the business model," said Pence.

Now perceived as "free," health care is being used "recklessly," added Pence.

One possible solution, he said, is to tailor Medicaid to meet the needs of patients.


Response

Medicaid is becoming a real problem. The federal government is cutting the program by leaps and bounds and will probably continue to do so. I'm not against providing medical benefits to those who need it but there has to be some effort to restructure and get peole using Medicaid to quit doing things like using the ER as a primary care physician. Treat this program like any other PPO and run it that way. Then people will have to do their regular checkups and things like that. I think it would work and it would be better than our current system.


posted by Stithmeister @ 8:34 AM
 
1 Comments:

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At 9:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
The problem is, the Feds want to once again "Out-source" Medicaid to private insurance groups. Where as some provide decent enough care, many more are shoddy rip-offs. A recent NYT article discussed how Florida is starting a program to do just what Fletcher wants. Their 'big idea' is that people will be assigned a certain amout of money based on past health status. A vast number of people end up on medicaid because they have sudden catastrophic illness. One Florida official sad only 5% of patients were likely to suffer a negative impact from the change. That means 1 in 20! The biggest problem is, medical care is perhaps the most expensive thing (including buying a house) that can happen in your life. Having an insurance company say 'You've not been to the hospital in 10 years, thus you get $10,000 set aside for you, then suddenly getting Cancer... it happens to people. And then, the people, that 5% lose everything.

Yes, there are people who mis-use the current system. But I'm willing to bet that the number who mis-use it are less than 5%...

Let private insurance companies take responsibility for deciding who gets what amount of coverage is definaedly putting the Fox in charge of the Hen house. Many of the people on Medicaid currently are there because they can't get private insurance or not a a rate they can afford.
 

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Location: Harrodsburg, Kentucky, United States

I'm currently working in the telecomm industry but one of my passions is still politics.



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