Post by Logan on Jun 3, 2016 0:19:47 GMT -6
Gov. Pat McCrory signs waiver request to feds for Medicaid changes
Hours before submitting a waiver request to the federal government, North Carolina on Wednesday unveiled its finalized Medicaid overhaul proposal to lawmakers, with key provisions including privatizing the majority of services.
Rick Brajer, Health and Human Services secretary, explained to the House Health Committee that the reforms would shift the system from fee-for-service to private, managed care, thereby expanding patient options, saving money and improving care. Later on Wednesday at the Executive Mansion, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the waiver, which by state law had to be submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by June 1.
McCrory reiterated that Medicaid reform had been an administration priority, criticized the program for mismanagement and claimed that after years of funding shortfalls – totaling $2 billion under the previous administration – DHHS had brought in Medicaid under budget for three years running.
In North Carolina, the Medicaid system covers about 1.9 million people and nearly 80,000 health care providers.
Read more here: www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article81370082.html
The drawback to privatization of services is that it increases the likelihood of corruption as the bidders for contracts line the campaign coffers of politicians and it also increases administrative costs because of the need to have staff, including attorneys, to write the contracts, monitor adherence and evaluate whether the contractor meets the program goals. In the end what occurs is that people who are state employees lose their benefits when they are transitioned to the private sector and the work is done on a shoddy basis since the private sector and the public sector operate differently. The emphasis in the public sector is to provide the services needed while the goal in the private sector is to make money for the owners and shareholders of businesses.
Hours before submitting a waiver request to the federal government, North Carolina on Wednesday unveiled its finalized Medicaid overhaul proposal to lawmakers, with key provisions including privatizing the majority of services.
Rick Brajer, Health and Human Services secretary, explained to the House Health Committee that the reforms would shift the system from fee-for-service to private, managed care, thereby expanding patient options, saving money and improving care. Later on Wednesday at the Executive Mansion, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the waiver, which by state law had to be submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by June 1.
McCrory reiterated that Medicaid reform had been an administration priority, criticized the program for mismanagement and claimed that after years of funding shortfalls – totaling $2 billion under the previous administration – DHHS had brought in Medicaid under budget for three years running.
In North Carolina, the Medicaid system covers about 1.9 million people and nearly 80,000 health care providers.
Read more here: www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article81370082.html
The drawback to privatization of services is that it increases the likelihood of corruption as the bidders for contracts line the campaign coffers of politicians and it also increases administrative costs because of the need to have staff, including attorneys, to write the contracts, monitor adherence and evaluate whether the contractor meets the program goals. In the end what occurs is that people who are state employees lose their benefits when they are transitioned to the private sector and the work is done on a shoddy basis since the private sector and the public sector operate differently. The emphasis in the public sector is to provide the services needed while the goal in the private sector is to make money for the owners and shareholders of businesses.