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Shopping at the mall is never a favorite pastime of mine but it does provide some comic relief to what I see happening in health reform. As I watch teenagers frantically searching for the latest fashion trend, I am reminded that this tendency to grab onto the latest and greatest new fad is at play in the health reform debate.
The fairly new concept of "health insurance exchanges" is grabbing all the attention while barely any attention is being paid to the good old blue jeans of health care - Medicaid. Now Medicaid has outlasted love beads, pet rocks and leisure suits and will probably outlast exchanges, but it is painful to see such a staple of the health care system endure yet another snub. Instead of throwing it by the wayside to grab onto the next new fad, policymakers should spiff it up a bit and put it proudly at the center of the health reform debate.
In 1965, the most vulnerable in society had little access to affordable health care. The nation embraced a new program called Medicaid and it became an important lifeline to those most in need. Since that time, private health insurance has eroded, health care costs have skyrocketed and more families and individuals have found themselves in need of affordable health care options. Policymakers should look to lessons learned through the forty-four year history of Medicaid in their efforts to figure out how to best meet the needs of the uninsured.
One place to look is the state that has had the most experience with health reform - Massachusetts. What we hear from folks up there is that a strong Medicaid program is as fundamental to the success of health reform as a pair of jeans is to your wardrobe. Nancy Turnbull should know - she serves on the board of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, which is an "exchange". During a recent panel discussion hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund, Turnbull emphasized that Medicaid provides the foundation of coverage necessary in order for the exchange to work.
"In particular, our coverage expansions come on a very strong base of Medicaid coverage and there are about 800,000 people in Massachusetts, non-Medicare, non-dually eligible who are covered on the Medicaid program," she said. "This created a very important foundation of coverage on our state on which the Connector has built."
According to Turnbull, the health care program in Massachusetts relies on the expertise and experience of the Commonwealth's Medicaid program.
Turnbull went on to say:
"Most people who are on Commonwealth Care are very similar to Medicaid people and the program has been designed deliberately to recognize that -- the needs and the challenges of people who are low- and moderate-income,"
A strong Medicaid program is fundamental to the success of health reform and the exchange can't function properly without it. In other words, while "exchanges" are pretty cool, they'll look a lot better with a good pair of jeans (aka revived Medicaid program).
The fairly new concept of "health insurance exchanges" is grabbing all the attention while barely any attention is being paid to the good old blue jeans of health care - Medicaid. Now Medicaid has outlasted love beads, pet rocks and leisure suits and will probably outlast exchanges, but it is painful to see such a staple of the health care system endure yet another snub. Instead of throwing it by the wayside to grab onto the next new fad, policymakers should spiff it up a bit and put it proudly at the center of the health reform debate.
In 1965, the most vulnerable in society had little access to affordable health care. The nation embraced a new program called Medicaid and it became an important lifeline to those most in need. Since that time, private health insurance has eroded, health care costs have skyrocketed and more families and individuals have found themselves in need of affordable health care options. Policymakers should look to lessons learned through the forty-four year history of Medicaid in their efforts to figure out how to best meet the needs of the uninsured.
One place to look is the state that has had the most experience with health reform - Massachusetts. What we hear from folks up there is that a strong Medicaid program is as fundamental to the success of health reform as a pair of jeans is to your wardrobe. Nancy Turnbull should know - she serves on the board of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, which is an "exchange". During a recent panel discussion hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund, Turnbull emphasized that Medicaid provides the foundation of coverage necessary in order for the exchange to work.
"In particular, our coverage expansions come on a very strong base of Medicaid coverage and there are about 800,000 people in Massachusetts, non-Medicare, non-dually eligible who are covered on the Medicaid program," she said. "This created a very important foundation of coverage on our state on which the Connector has built."
According to Turnbull, the health care program in Massachusetts relies on the expertise and experience of the Commonwealth's Medicaid program.
Turnbull went on to say:
"Most people who are on Commonwealth Care are very similar to Medicaid people and the program has been designed deliberately to recognize that -- the needs and the challenges of people who are low- and moderate-income,"
A strong Medicaid program is fundamental to the success of health reform and the exchange can't function properly without it. In other words, while "exchanges" are pretty cool, they'll look a lot better with a good pair of jeans (aka revived Medicaid program).
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