Heartland Senior Policy Analyst Matthew Glans documents the failure of Medicaid to deliver quality care to the nation’s poor and disabled, even as it drives health care spending to unsustainable heights. The Affordable Care Act makes a bad situation worse by encouraging states to expand rather than reform a failing program.
According to Glans, states can follow the successful examples of Florida and Rhode Island to reform their Medicaid programs, or submit even more ambitious requests for waivers to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
In addition to fixing their Medicaid programs, states also can implement a long list of other reforms that expand supply and reduce prices, including repealing coverage mandates, guaranteed issue, community rating, occupational licensure laws, and certificate of need regulations. States also can expand health savings accounts and encourage telemedicine, high-risk pools, and price transparency.
Matthew Glans joined the staff of The Heartland Institute in November 2007 as legislative specialist for insurance and finance.
