Recent studies
and journal publications
have confirmed what many enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP) have been saying for years: that they receive worse
care than individuals and families with other kinds of health insurance. This
is a devastating revelation for the parents of the 37 million children
currently on Medicaid-CHIP and the millions more about to be added, thanks to
health reform.
Children who have Medicaid-CHIP coverage are turned away from medical specialty care more often
than children with private insurance. The culprits for this disparity include
not only the educational and income barriers faced by those who are on the
public insurance, but also the physicians and health care facilities that
refuse to accept any (or most) individuals on public insurance due to low
physician reimbursement and excessive paperwork.
Moreover, as these public programs are expanded under ObamaCare, and as the
country faces financial hardships, most agencies assigned
to improve the system will be looking to further decrease provider
reimbursement rates to achieve cost savings.
This creates all kinds of additional problems, as we’ve learned the hard way from Medicare. Not the least of which is the
fact that decreasing provider payments directly leads to less access and lower
quality for all.
Knowing the existing adverse effects faced by children and families enrolled in
Medicaid-CHIP, we must seriously question how the administration can pass
health reform that will not only expand these programs but will also most
likely lower provider reimbursement rates in order to meet economic demands.
NC Senate Overrides Governor’s Veto of Medical Malpractice Bill
Support To Fix A Health Care Glitch
Comparing State Health Insurance Exchange Positions
