Our newest policy study: Medicaid Reform: Strengthening Nebraskas Health Care Safety Net is now available to read at PlatteInstitute.org. Heres a summary of our key findings: • Annual state Medicaid spending has nearly doubled over the last decade from $1.1 billion in 2000 to $1.9 billion in 2012. Even without Medicaid Expansion, Nebraska is projected to spend $34.4 billion in the next decade, compared to $10.9 billion over the last ten years. These increases crowd other essential services out of the state’s budget; • Despite spending increases, access and quality issues persist for vulnerable populations. Two-thirds of Nebraska counties face shortages of primary care providers and all but one county have shortages of mental health providers. 1,500 Nebraskans with intellectual or developmental disabilities remain on waiting lists to receive Medicaid services. Reform means bankable savings to address these critical needs; • Costs for Nebraska’s Medicaid program are also substantially higher than neighboring states and the national average. If costs were aligned with the region or the country as a whole, taxpayers could save up to $177 million or up to $208 million a year respectively; • Nebraska taxpayers now shoulder nearly 47 percent of the cost of the Medicaid program, up from just 40 percent a decade ago, or an increase of $125 million a year; • Medicaid Reform in Kansas helped reduce costs by nearly 15 percent below earlier projections, saving $160 million. $37 million in savings were used to relieve the state’s Medicaid backlog. Similar reforms can save Nebraska $100-$300 million; • Nebraska’s Medicaid program can attract additional health care plans to participate, including provider-led plans. More competition among plans has been shown in other states to lead to increased benefits for patients at no additional cost to taxpayers; • Eligibility reviews exceeding federal requirements in Pennsylvania and Illinois have saved millions of dollars in those states, protecting benefits for truly needy recipients by more promptly identifying program errors and abuse in this high-risk program.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 20:23:17 +0000
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