Title: The Impact of Medicaid Reform on People with Disabilities
1The Impact of Medicaid Reform on People with
Disabilities
The Arc of California February 24, 2005
- Jeffrey S. Crowley, M.P.H.
- Project Director
- Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University
- 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 525
- Washington, DC 20007
- (202) 687-0652/(202) 687-3110 F
- jsc26_at_georgetown.edu
-
2Medicaid is being set up as a bogeyman
- Medicaids detractors and critics have
selectively used facts to claim - Medicaid is broken
- Medicaid spending is out of control
- Medicaid is crowding out other state
prioritiessuch as education - Medicaid provides a Cadillac benefits package
when the nation can only afford a Chevy - Medicaid, in its current form, is unsustainable
3The Presidents budget includes significant cuts
to Medicaid
- Significant Cuts to Medicaid (60.1 Billion over
10 years) - 11.9 Billion Restricting Intergovernmental
Transfers (IGTs) - 3.3 Billion Cost-based reimbursement for
government providers - 6.2 Billion Phase down of safe harbor tax
- 1.4 Billion Managed care provider tax reform
- 4.0 Billion Reduce targeted case management
(TCM) match to 50 - 7.7 Billion Narrow services elible for federal
match as TCM services - 6.0 Billion Cap on Medicaid administrative
claiming - 15.1 Billion Restructure pharmacy reimbursement
- 4.5 Billion Reform of transfer of assets policy
- Capped Financing for Administrative Costs
- Essentially proposing to block grant
administrative costs when states are being asked
to do more such as improve quality, minimize
fraud, and assist with transition of dual
eligibles to Medicare drug coverage - Weakening Core Protections
- Budget proposes to give states additional
flexibility in Medicaid to further increase
coverage among low-income individuals and
families without creating additional costs for
the federal government. Believed to foreshadow
a proposal to weaken or eliminate core Medicaid
protections for so-called optional populations
and optional services.
4If adopted, Presidents budget proposals could
lead to broader policy changes
- Entitlement Cap
- Policy proposed in the 108th Congress to limit
federal spending on entitlement programs (i.e.
Medicaid and Medicare) to require across the
board reductions in spending. Coming after a
period of successive years of greater efforts to
control Medicaid spending, even a seemingly small
cut could be devastating - Block Grant
- Policy that would change Medicaid from an
open-ended financing system to one that limits
the level of federal funding. Could result in a
huge cost shift to states and could harm
beneficiaries by leading to severe benefits cuts
or extreme eligibility restrictions - Waivers
- Authority given by Congress to the Secretary of
HHS to waive (or disregard) provisions of the law
(such as requirements that services be comparable
or statewide, or that services must be sufficient
in amount, duration, and scope) - Waivers have been used to innovate in the
delivery of health care (i.e. Home- and
Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers) and to
expand Medicaid coverage to previously uninsured
populations. Recently, waivers have been used to
limit coverage or weaken protections for current
beneficiaries
5States are seeking waivers that harm people with
disabilities
- Waivers are being used to undermine critical
features of Medicaid. Examples - Florida Released a waiver concept paper that
would impose both global spending caps and per
capita limits on level of Medicaid support
available require individuals to purchase
private coverageprivate plans would have
complete flexibility to determine benefits
covered and coverage policies impact on LTC is
unclear - Mississippi State eliminated coverage for
65,000 people with disabilities and sought waiver
to provide limited coverage to selected
groupscovering fewer than a third of people
losing coverage court delayed coverage loss,
legislature may reverse the Governors cuts - New Hampshire Released a waiver concept paper
that would radically reform the LTC system
eliminate the nursing home entitlement move
people into the community with individual
budgets, and theoretically reduce institutional
spending by 30 over 5 years - Tennessee Dropping coverage for more than
300,000 people, changing medical necessity
definition, and seeking waiver to permit
excluding drugs from coverage (gastric acid
reducers and antihistamines) and to receive
pre-approval for further benefits cuts
6To address Medicaids real challenges, we need a
new narrative
- We need to tell the story of Medicaids success
- Medicaid works for people with disabilities
- Medicaid supports national health policy goals
- Medicaid allows other parts of the health system
to function - Medicaid is a good deal for states
- Even in tight fiscal times, Medicaid is a good
investment
7Medicaid works forpeople with disabilities
- While improvements are needed, no major public
program has been more responsive to the needs of
people with disabilities than Medicaid - Provides health care coverage to more than 52
million low-income people in the United States,
including more than 8 million people with severe
disabilities - Largest source of financing for long-term
services and covers nearly 70 of nursing home
residents and pays for nearly half of all nursing
home spending - EPSDT benefit provides for screening, early
detection, and treatment of disabilities and
other health conditions in children - Largest funder of developmental disability
services largest funder of state and local
spending on mental health services and largest
source of health coverage for people with
HIV/AIDS - Medicaid covers services needed by people with
disabilities that the private market, Medicare,
and SCHIP do not cover (So-called optional
services are generally disability services) - Open-ended financing and flexibility in the
Medicaid law has permitted states to innovate and
improve the delivery of services to people with
disabilities (e.g. Katie Beckett option, HCBS
waivers, Medicaid buy-in programs) - Enforceable right to coverage ensures access to
critical services
8The current Medicaid financing structure supports
national health care objectives
- Current Medicaid Financing
- Federal state governments share financial
responsibility and risk - States set spending levels
- Incentives for states to control costs
- Federal government reimburses states based on the
match rate - Federal matching funds are guaranteed entitlement
to states - No set limits helps states manage unpredictable
economic conditions and demographic changes - Supports entitlement to coverage
- Not subject to federal appropriations
- Matching system plays an vital role
- Creates incentives for states to take up federal
options - Discourages cuts in Medicaid
- National Healthcare Objectives
- Provides health coverage to low-income families
- Fills in the gaps in Medicare coverage
- Serves as the nations principal source of
coverage for long-term care and mental health
services - Helps states respond to economic downturns and
public health epidemics and disasters like
HIV/AIDS - Provides essential financing for urban and rural
health care providers and disability services
providers
K A I S E R C O M M I S S I O N
O N Medicaid and the Uninsured
9Medicaid enables all other parts of the
healthcare system to work
Private Health Insurance Relies on Medicaid to
help keep premiums lower by covering high-cost
cases and services
Medicare Relies on Medicaid to finance half the
care for low-income beneficiaries (even after
Medicare Part D is implemented)
MEDICAID
Safety-Net Hospitals and Clinics Rely on Medicaid
to support ER capacity and for revenues from
beneficiaries and direct subsidies
Public Health Infrastructure Relies on Medicaid
to support immunization programs, respond to
pressing epidemics (like HIV/AIDS) and
bioterrorism
K A I S E R C O M M I S S I O N
O N Medicaid and the Uninsured
10Federal Medicaid financing is a good deal for
states
- The federal government matches state spending.
- Depending on the relative wealth of the state,
the federal governments share of Medicaid costs
ranges from 50 up to a statutory maximum of 83. - In 2005, 13 states had a 50 Federal Medical
Assistance Percentage (FMAP) of 50 (CA, CO, CT,
DE, IL, MA, MD, MN, NH, NJ, NY, VA, and WA). In
these states, 1 of state Medicaid spending
produces 1 of federal Medicaid support for the
state. - In 2005, Mississippi has the highest FMAP of
roughly 77. In MS, 1 of state Medicaid
spending produces roughly 3.35 of federal
Medicaid support for the state. - Best deal states have, and largest source of
federal funding for states. Matched financing
has led states to shift health care spending to
Medicaid to maximize federal support.
11Criticisms distort Medicaids true record
- Critics have said
- MYTH Spending is out-of-control
- FACT Medicaid spending has been increasing more
slowly than the private market. From 2002-2004,
per person Medicaid spending rose 6.7, almost
half the rate of the private market (12.5)
despite serving a sicker and needier population
(CBO estimates and Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET
survey of employer-sponsored health benefits,
2004) - MYTH Medicaid eclipses state spending on
education - FACT In FY 2003, Medicaid spending comprised
16.5 of state general fund expenditures, less
than half of state spending on elementary and
secondary education (35.5). (State Expenditure
Report 2003, National Association of State
Budget Officers, October 2004) States often
exaggerate Medicaid spending by counting federal
Medicaid payments. - MYTH Medicaid is a drain on state resources
- FACT A review of 17 studies on the economic
impact of Medicaid showed that every study found
that Medicaid generates state and local economic
activity. (The Role of Medicaid in State
Economies A Look at the Research, Kaiser
Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, April
2004.) Using a Department of Commerce model,
Families USA found that in 2005, the return on
every state dollar spent on Medicaid results in
1.92 to 6.22 in new economic activity,
depending on the state. On average, Medicaid
generates nearly 70,000 jobs per state.
(Medicaid Good Medicine for State Economies,
2004, Families USA, May 2004)
12Most current challenges arebigger than Medicaid
- The major financing issues facing Medicaid
programs stem from problems that are bigger than
Medicaid and call for broader national solutions.
Unresolved issues include - Controlling health costs (across all payers) that
consistently rise faster than inflation - Controlling escalating prescription drug costs
- Financing access to new medical technology
- Establishing a system for financing long-term
services for moderate income people (which would
take the pressure of Medicaid, thereby allowing
it to focus on the low-income population) - Adapting to demographic changes that are
increasing the demand for public services when
fewer workers are able to support such services
13Federal Revenues in 2004 As a Share of the
Economy A Historical Comparison
Source Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
14Legislation Adding to DeficitsMostly Tax Cuts
Defense
Cost in 2005 of legislation enacted since January
2001
Source Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
calculations from Congressional Budget Office
data. Reflects costs above an adjusted CBO
current services baseline. Last revised February
3, 2005.
15Opportunities exist to improve Medicaid
- While Medicaid requires a continued large
investment of public resources, opportunities
exist to make Medicaid stronger and take pressure
off the program. Bipartisan efforts could be
focused on - Controlling rising drug costs by increasing
rebates building on successful state efforts to
manage pharmacy costs and moving drug pricing
away from AWP (average wholesale price) to ASP
(average sales price) -
- HOWEVER, it is unclear whether Congress could
enact the pharmacy reforms in the Presidents
budget and unclear whether they would yield the
level of savings specified - Rebalancing the long-term care system to comply
with the Olmstead mandate and to employ cheaper
and better models of delivering long-term
serviceswithout undermining core Medicaid
protections - Taking pressure off states by shifting more costs
to Medicare for services for dual eligibles
16About 42 percent of all Medicaid spending
forbenefits is for dual eligibles
Financing services for Medicare beneficiaries is
a burden on states
Non-Prescription (82.7 Billion)
36
Spending on Dual Eligibles 42
Spending on Other Groups (136.7 Billion)
59
6
Prescription Drugs
(13.4 Billion)
6
2002 Total Spending on Benefits 232.8 Billion
SOURCE Urban Institute estimates prepared for
KCMU based on an analysis of 2000 MSIS data
applied to CMS-64 FY2002 data.
17Medicaid defenders have a few factors working in
their favor
- Medicaid is a critical program that serves the
national interest. People working to protect the
program can be heartened by -
- Our track record
- Efforts have been made to block grant Medicaid in
1981, 1995, and 2003. Medicaids defenders have
succeeded in protecting the program by working
together and reminding policy makers of the
important role of Medicaid - Broad range of stakeholders
- Past efforts to weaken or restructure Medicaid
have been thwarted, in part, by the collective
efforts of a large number of stakeholders and
interests affected by the program. In addition
to beneficiaries, doctors, hospitals, clinics,
pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical supplies
providers, health care workers, and others have
spoken out in support of Medicaid - We have the better story to tell
- While we can defend Medicaid by telling
innumerable stories of the lives saved or
improved by Medicaid, proponents of restructuring
cannot promise something better. Rather, they
argue that the program is broken, Medicaid is too
generous, or poorly runwithout offering a more
positive alternative
18Success will require anunprecedented response
- We must still do things we have never done
before. - Every disability organization must make defending
Medicaid a priority. Not just health staffers,
but senior leadership must be prepared to
continually tell the positive story of Medicaids
essential role for people with disabilities - New resources are needed. This includes money
and staff time - State groups are critical. In addition to
day-to-day legislative work, federal lobbyists
must support state and local groups to become
engaged in federal (and state) Medicaid issues - Reaching out to the mediaand giving state and
local affiliates the tools to reach out to the
mediawill be critical - Whether it is in the context of a budget battle
or a block grant fight, we need to make the
debate about Medicaidand make it personal