Base Medicaid Debate on Truth
By the News-RegisterOpponents of Medicaid reform in West Virginia seem to believe that if they repeat a falsehood often enough, the public may begin to believe it. We don't think so.
Another "advocacy group" has jumped on the bandwagon in opposition to the Mountain State program. It is Families USA of Washington, D.C. On Thursday, the organization released a report stating that 92 percent of Medicaid clients in our state "have lost access to critical health care services."
That simply isn't true.
Families USA referred to Mountain Health Choices, the Medicaid reform program in West Virginia. It is a simple idea, intended to make Medicaid clients more responsible about their own health, as well as how taxpayers' dollars are spent on the program.
Medicaid clients are given an option: They can sign a personal responsibility agreement, or refuse to sign it. Those who agree are given access to health care treatment in excess of that formerly available through Medicaid. Programs such as smoking cessation are among the optional offerings. Those signing the agreements take personal responsibility for more health care decisions. For example, they agree to keep appointments they have made with doctors, and to avoid use of hospital emergency rooms except in true emergencies.
Only about 8 percent of Medicaid recipients have signed the pledges.
Those who do not sign are limited to Medicaid payments only for basic health care. The number of prescriptions Medicaid will pay for is limited, for example. It is this class of people - the 92 percent of West Virginia Medicaid recipients - who are referred to by Families USA.
But the truth is that they have not lost access to critical health care services. Again, basic health care continues to be paid for by Medicaid. If members of that 92 percent group want enhanced benefits, all they have to do is sign the personal responsibility agreements - and abide by them.
Martha Walker, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Resources, put Families USA's complaint into perspective. "They are interested in nothing more than preserving the status quo," she noted. That would be fine if the status quo was effective but, as Walker pointed out, "The current system is 40 years old and isn't working."
West Virginians usually are willing to debate important issues and, when necessary, to adjust public policy. That's why Mountain Health Choices was established in the first place. But our state's residents do place one stipulation on any such debate: We like for it to be based on the truth.
