MAY 20, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Pennsylvania Welfare Spending & Medicaid

Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed FY 2011-12 budget would represent the first time General Fund spending on the Department of Public Welfare would exceed that for the Department of Education.

JANUARY 17, 2011 | Policy Report by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

80 Ideas for a Prosperous Pennsylvania

A Blueprint for Transforming the Commonwealth

Pennsylvania must undergo a rapid transformation to reverse the poor policy decisions that have eroded economic freedoms and brought the state to its present condition.  To provide a roadmap for success in this critical endeavor, the Commonwealth Foundation has compiled a list of 80 policy recommendations for Gov. Corbett and state legi

JANUARY 11, 2011 | Policy Report by STEPHEN A. MOSES

Long-Term Care Reform

More Access to Better Care at Lower Costs

Long-term care is very expensive whether provided in a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or in someone's home. Medicaid pays for most professional long-term care (LTC) in Pennsylvania.  LTC currently costs Pennsylvania taxpayers $6.6 billion per year, making up 40% of all Medicaid spending (much higher than the national average)

DECEMBER 9, 2011

How Much Will Obamacare Cost You?

The federal health care overhaul will be paid for with spending cuts and an estimated $420 billion in new taxes. How much of that $420 billion will come out of your pocket? The Tax Foundation's new Health Care Tax calculator has the answer.

The calculator covers nine new taxes in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—the Cadillac tax on generous policies, the 10 percent tanning tax, the tax on HSA disbursements, the medical devices tax and more—some of which don't kick in until 2018.

The calculator provides your total tax burden along with the burden for each individual tax. But that's not the total cost of the health care law. Creator Nick Kasprak explains;

. . .the impact of the individual and employer mandates, which are designed to change consumer behavior rather than raise revenue, need to be considered in addition to direct tax costs, as well as spending cuts to Medicare Advantage.

In other words, your calculated tax burden doesn't account for a variety of unintended consequences, such as an increase in premiums thanks to new mandates or the rise in Medicaid enrollment. While we now know what is in the bill, the full cost of PPACA is still unknown.

posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 01:15 PM | 0 comment

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Changing the Incentives in Medicaid

Medicaid spending is set to skyrocket under the federal health care overhaul in the next two years, but it already consumes 31 percent of Pennsylvania's budget. It is no surprise that the Department of Public Welfare is looking for ways to make the program, known for providing expensive and low-quality care, more cost-effective.

Last week, Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander revealed the department is looking at a form of Reverse Health Savings Accounts for Medicaid beneficiaries.

We are looking at a model to save hundreds of millions of dollars by steering Medicaid beneficiaries to the most cost-effective settings. To reward beneficiaries we would give them some incentive. . . so if the state saves $1,000 on a medical procedure we may give the beneficiary $100 or $200 as a reward.

Reverse Health Savings Accounts encourage enrollees to use health care services more discriminately. For instance, beneficiaries would be rewarded for using a primary physician for non-life threatening illnesses instead of a hospital emergency room.

According to health experts, this specific approach has never been tried in a state before, but adjusting patient incentives so they use health care effectively is nothing new. We recommended this approach nearly three years ago. Unlike more comprehensive reforms, such as block grants or waivers, this reform is very achievable since it doesn't appear to need federal approval.

posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 01:45 PM | 0 comment