One of the most tragic failings of ObamaCare is that it will make it harder for many of the most vulnerable citizens – patients with no option but Medicaid – to get care.
Medicaid is cumbersome, complex, and wasteful – already the worst health care program in the country. But rather than making changes to improve or modernize this program designed to finance care for the poor, the Obama administration is trying to convince states to add at least 16 million more people to Medicaid, including families making more than $30,000 a year.
That means the poorest and most vulnerable patients enrolled today will be competing with millions of new Medicaid patients for appointments to see a limited number of physicians. Those who have the greatest need and nowhere else to go are likely to have the hardest time getting care.
In its ruling in June, the Supreme Court made it optional for states to expand Medicaid to cover new enrollees. Even with generous federal funding, several states have said flatly they cannot afford the expansion, which would cost states at least $118 billion through 2023.
They are resisting not only because of budget concerns but also because this large Medicaid expansion could have catastrophic effects on those who provide society’s health care safety net.
First, there simply aren’t enough doctors to handle this influx of new patients. Given Medicaid’s abysmally-low payment rates, private doctors won’t be able to afford to take much more of the exploding caseload.
A recent article in Health Affairs found that nearly one-third (31%) of physicians are not accepting any new Medicaid patients. Sandra Decker, an economist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, used a survey of 4,326 office-based physicians from across the country to find that just under 70 percent said they were accepting new Medicaid patients. That number was significantly lower than those accepting privately-insured subscribers (81 percent) or Medicare patients (83 percent).
The problem is particularly acute in states that have the lowest reimbursement rates for physicians.
Health policy analyst Avik Roy of the Manhattan Institute has produced a map showing the reimbursement rates for Medicaid relative to private insurance.
Many states that plan to expand Medicaid under ObamaCare are those with low Medicaid reimbursement rates. In California, for example, up to 1.6 million residents are expected to gain coverage under the state’s Medicaid program , called Medi-Cal, but fewer than 60 percent of providers accept new patients in the program. That’s largely becauseCalifornia reimburses doctors 38 cents for every dollar private insurance pays. New York, which is anxious to further expand its Medicaid rolls, pays doctors only 29 cents on the dollar.
Where would these newly “insured” Medicaid patients go for care with fewer doctors willing to accept new patients? A Medicaid card clearly will not guarantee access to a physician.
Longer waiting lines for emergency rooms are inevitable.
Safety-net hospitals that provide care to the poorest and most vulnerable in our society already are stretched to the limit financially. Adding millions more people to Medicaid will put crushing new demands on them.
In addition, at least 30 million people will remain uninsured after the law is fully in effect, based upon optimistic projections from the Congressional Budget Office. These uninsured will continue to need care, often without the ability to pay.
ObamaCare adds a further distortion: To help pay for its expanded coverage, the health law cuts existing payments to hospitals that provide care to a “disproportionate-share” of uninsured patients. So there will be less money to compensate hospitals for patients who will still show up needing care.Studies consistently show that Medicaid patients have the worst health outcomes of any group in America, worse than those with private insurance and, in some cases, worse than those with no insurance.
A large study by the University of Virginia found that surgical patients on Medicaid are 13 percent more likely to die than those with no insurance at all and 97 percent more likely to die than those with private insurance.
The problem is particularly acute for Medicaid recipients who need to see specialists. One Florida doctor reported that, after a long battle with the state over payment for treating a patient with complex lung disease, he received a check from Medicaid for one penny .
Medicaid patients will find access to care restricted in other ways.
States already are restricting access to drug services for existing Medicaid beneficiaries. Kaiser Health Newsreport s that “Illinois Medicaid recipients have been limited to four prescription drugs [per month] as the state becomes the latest to cap how many medicines it will cover in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor.” A total of 16 states impose monthly limits on prescription drugs for beneficiaries, “and seven states have either enacted such caps or tightened them in the past two years.”
Clearly, the huge expansion of Medicaid will make it even harder for the patients already on Medicaid to get the health care they need and will be little more than the paper promise it is today for those who receive a new Medicaid card.
Despite these many problems , many states are tempted and are seriously considering whether to accept the generous 100 percent federal matching money ObamaCare initially offers if they expand eligibility for Medicaid up to 138 percent of poverty (more than $32,000 for a family of four).
But states should be warned: It’s likely a loss leader. There are no assurances that Washington would be able to keep its promise to continue the generous funding.
There already is evidence that could be the administration’s plan. President Obama proposed reducing federal Medicaid spending by $100 billion over 10 years during last year’s “supercommittee” budget negotiations. He proposed changing the traditional federal Medicaid matching rate in a way that would lead to a smaller overall federal contribution to the program — and a larger state-based one.
Given time, resources, and greater flexibility , hospitals could work with other medical facilities to create a system of care for the uninsured. But with millions more people added to an unreformed Medicaid program all at once, safety net providers will be overwhelmed.
There is a better way: Allow people on Medicaid the option of private insurance so they can get coverage through private competing plans. Floridahas a successful model underway. These plans could provide much better access to physicians, coordinate care for patients with multiple health problems, and allow patients to be seen in doctors’ offices rather than in expensive hospital emergency rooms.
Patients would have the dignity of private coverage, and safety-net hospitals will be able to keep their doors open so they can continue their mission of caring for the poorest and neediest in our society.
Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute, a non-profit research organization that focuses on patient-centered health reform solutions.
