The Washington-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) finds that Medicaid costs are growing slower than Medicare and private health insurance in an attempt to show that Medicaid is a good deal.
But the slowdown was largely due to an improving economy, as the paper admits, and steps taken by states to limit their payments. North Carolina, for example, froze reimbursement rates for the past two years.
CBPP and others complained about cost-containment steps at the time, but are happy to report the results. The latest report concludes:
Most Americans expect to receive quality
medical care and long-term care and look forward to having access to
medical advances that will prolong life and improve health. These
medical advances generally add to costs. Addressing the twin phenomena
of escalating health care costs and high health care expectations is a
problem that cannot be solved primarily through Medicaid. It
ultimately will have to be addressed as part of a broader national
effort to reform the overall U.S. health care system.
In other words, someone is going to have to ration care. CBPP would prefer the government do it, despite the evidence. Some of us would prefer to use prices.
