Tulsa World: Plan would boost Medicaid

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Plan would boost Medicaid
State stands to gain millions for health care under stimulus plan, report says

By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Published: 12/13/2008 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 12/13/2008 2:57 AM

While a number of states are planning Medicaid cuts to balance their budgets, Oklahoma doesn't have such plans.

The state could gain an additional $453 million in federal matching funds if an economic stimulus package plan by Congressional Democrats and President-elect Barack Obama is approved, according to a national Families USA report released Friday.

The additional Medicaid funding would not only provide health care to more Oklahomans, it could help create 9,300 new jobs with $297 million in new wages and spur an estimated $819 million in new business activity in the state, the report said.

Families USA is a national health consumer group that advocates high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The group's analysis is based on passage of legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Forty-three U.S. states are facing budget deficits for fiscal 2009, the report said.

Of those, 19 have enacted or proposed cuts in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, and six of those are considering a second round of cuts, the report said.

"Cutting Medicaid or CHIP is a counterproductive way to reduce state spending," it said.

Every dollar a state spends on Medicaid pulls new federal matching dollars into the state. Those dollars pass from one person to another in successive rounds of spending, generating more business activity, jobs and wages, the report said.

There are no active discussions about cutting Medicaid

or SCHIP in Oklahoma, said Nico Gomez, spokesman for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which manages the state's Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance programs.

"Oklahoma hasn't seen the revenue shortfalls that other states have," Gomez said. "States are hitting the wall at different times. It still remains to be seen how Oklahoma will be impacted by the national recession."

Unlike Senate versions of the legislation, House versions wouldn't help Oklahoma's Medicaid programs at all, he said.

"It is certainly a priority of the state Legislature and the governor to reduce the uninsured and increase coverage for children and working adults," Gomez said.

In fact, Oklahoma made an investment in the last couple of years to pay providers the highest rate available under federal rules, he said.

The state is still awaiting word from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on an application filed 17 months ago to raise income eligibility requirements in the state for SCHIP, he said.

SCHIP provides health insurance for 4 million U.S. children who previously were uninsured.

Congress passed legislation last year that would have reauthorized the program. President George W. Bush vetoed that bill, which expires in March.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said he hopes Congress acts quickly and reauthorizes SCHIP and provides additional funding.

"You really can't fix the economy without fixing health care," he said.

Kim Archer 581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (12/13/2008 7:14:43 AM) "The state could gain an additional $453 million in federal matching funds..." Yeah, right - as long as a certain Oklahoma Senator who perceives all federal funds as pork, doesn't try to block this.
	Report Comment my view, Sand Springs (12/13/2008 7:23:13 AM) Eric, He's a doctor now do you really believe he would try and block Medicare or Medicaid. He's after wasteful spending, not money going to a good cause.
	Report Comment John M, Tulsa (12/13/2008 7:53:18 AM) Gomez says that the state is still awaiting word from the CMM on an application filed 17 months ago to raise income eligibility requirements in the state for SCHIP. Why is there not more pressure put on the federal government to resolve this? 17 months is a long time.
	Report Comment Davy Crotchety, (12/13/2008 12:55:05 PM) My view, of course we believe that Coburn would put the kabosh on a good cause...because that's exactly what he does. Just last April he put a hold on the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. Google it. He takes the Hypocritical Oath very seriously.
	Report Comment Davy Crotchety, (12/13/2008 1:58:21 PM) Yeah that Keep the Change, nothing like a made up story to hide a few ugly facts...how very RNC of you. If you hadn't noticed, Bush is the guy that took a budget surplus to the biggest deficit in history in eight years. FYI, he's still in charge and he's the one running up your grandkid's credit card right this minute. You can try to blame Obama, the Democrats, or Santa if you like, but facts are facts. This deficit ugly and getting uglier long before Obama was around. And yet you blame the guy anyway. And economists and grownups agree that the only solution for a deep recession is to deficit spend some more. McCain was going to do the exact same thing. What would you have the government do? Raise taxes? Do nothing while unemployment skyrockets and the economy craters? That's how you end up in a depression. Google John Maynard Keynes. Learn something before you spout off again.
	Report Comment Ignatz, Broken Bow (12/13/2008 2:09:47 PM) Coburn never voted against a single expenditure relating to waging war in Iraq, the largest unecessary expense item on the budget. He will vote for this if he is convinced doctors, hospitals and big drug companies profit from it. His moral compass is pointed toward his bank account.
	Report Comment getreal, (12/13/2008 3:34:23 PM) Coburn is a joke. He spends as much as anyone, just on what lines his pockets.
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, small town (12/14/2008 2:58:52 AM) can be very good for okla if done right and taken care of in the right way.

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