Brian Blase, Ph.D., is the President of Paragon Health Institute. Brian was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) from 2017-2019, where he coordinated the development and execution of numerous health policies and advised the President, NEC director, and senior officials. After leaving the White House, Brian founded Blase Policy Strategies and served as its CEO.
Medicaid Funding Needs Reforms
Medicaid is a federal program intended to finance healthcare and long-term care services to those most in need. However, the program’s design has riddled it with inefficiencies, draining taxpayer dollars and failing those who count on it.
The government matches every dollar that states spend on Medicaid, with no limit on the payment. The open-ended reimbursement contributes to enormous spending that does not make us healthier and that lines the pockets of insurers and big hospital systems.
Two primary problems that produce such wasteful spending. First, the federal government pays nearly the entire cost of state spending on able-bodied, working-age adults, compared to the 60 percent or so that it pays for children, pregnant women, seniors and the disabled. This discrimination against traditional Medicaid recipients has diminished their access to care, leading to longer wait times and more Medicaid recipients using the emergency room for non-emergency services.
Second, states manipulate Medicaid to generate federal matching dollars without contributing any real state spending. States have turned much of Medicaid financing into a money-laundering operation.
The most common tactic is the provider tax, a kickback mechanism.
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