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Hospital Association VP says defunding healthcare reform could hurt its members

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The Missouri Hospital Association says if the federal healthcare reform law is defunded, it will have a drastic impact on hospitals in the state and nationwide.

The House has passed a resolution that would fund the government through December but would pull funding from the president’s healthcare reform plan.

Missouri Hospital Association Vice President Dave Dillon says he understands what Republicans in the House want to do, but says they must remember that the program will cut money to hospitals to pay for the uninsured in anticipation that the money they propose pulling would result in more people with insurance.

“All of those payment cuts are going into place no matter whether the federal government defunds the increases in the insured population. So, what we would see would be over the course of ten years $4-billion in cuts without any corresponding increase in the people who can pay for care.”

Dillon says if Republicans really want to stop the plan alternately called “The Affordable Care Act,” or “Obamacare,” it will require some tough sells.

“It would be very difficult to pass a law that would rescind the ability of individuals to stay on their parents plans until they’re 26 years old. It would be very difficult and unpopular to rescind the extension of insurance without regard to preexisting conditions and without lifetime limits. Those things would be absolutely make or break for the insurance industry.”

Senator Claire McCaskill says the Senate will vote to restore funding to federal healthcare reform and send the resolution back to the House. The situation must be resolved by Monday, the first day of the federal fiscal year, or a shutdown to federal programs and services could result.

Release of Republican plan for Medicaid overhaul could come this week

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The sponsor of a Republican proposal last session to reform and expand Medicaid is nearly ready to unveil a first draft of the new version of that bill.

Jay Barnes (left) is named Chairman of the Interim Committee on Medicaid Transformation by House Speaker Tim Jones (right). (Photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications.)

Jay Barnes (left) is named Chairman of the Interim Committee on Medicaid Transformation by House Speaker Tim Jones (right). (Photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications.)

Last session Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City) proposed an overhaul to expand Medicaid eligibility for some and offered incentives for recipients for keeping their costs low, while putting others on subsidized private insurance.

Barnes says he could release a first draft of a bill for 2014 this week, and it will share some of the same concepts.

“We want to give Missouri the most market-based Medicaid system in the entire country. We want to turn recipients of Medicaid into active consumers who are participants in their own health care decisions and give them skin in the game just like every other Missourian on private health insurance has, to bring down costs and actually improve the results of care.”

Barnes chairs an interim committee on Medicaid reform and expansion. He says it will have a chance to pick apart his proposal, piece-by-piece.

“I’m not going to file a bill until this committee is over … and it that means I don’t file a bill until January, that’s what it means.”

Barnes says he believes Missouri can still access federal money for Medicaid expansion, and he thinks there is more than one way that can happen.

“We need a model that’s Missouri-specific … different from any other state. There’s a way to get there. We can increase this new, market-based Medicaid to 100 percent of the federal poverty level and then help subsidize health care plans for working Missourians between 100 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.”

The proposal will be unveiled online. The Interim Committee on Medicaid Transformation’s next meeting is October 26 at 1:00 at the State Capitol.

Missouri House passes rebuke of federal health care plan

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As Congress moves to a crucial decision on health care in Washington, the Missouri House in Jefferson City approves a constitutional amendment rebuking the federal efforts.

If approved by the legislature, the proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting Missourians from being compelled to participate in any health care system would go to a vote of the people. HJR 48, 50 & 57 is half-way there. The House voted 109-to-46 in favor and sent it to the Senate.

The top Democrat in the House, Paul LeVota of Independence, questioned why supporters would want to set up a direct confrontation with Congress by amending the state constitution.

“And, so, what this House Joint Resolution is basically putting in our constitution is that we don’t follow part of federal law,” LeVota said during House debate.

Republican Brian Nieves of Washington responded by calling the move a push-back against the federal government.

“We would basically be drawing a line in the sand and saying, ‘No, federal government, we as a state are not going to recognize your encroachment and your attempt to force this on us.’ So, yeah, I guess you’re right,” Nieves told LeVota.

Meanwhile, in Congress, efforts are being made to secure the votes necessary to pass President Obama’s health care overhaul legislation.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:60 MP3]

AUDIO: Rep. Nieves questions Rep. LeVota during House floor debate [15 min MP3]

Missouri doctor concerned with health care overhaul

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Those medical doctors who were hosted at the White House last week as they spoke in favor of the Obama health care reform plan certainly represent some physicians. But a Missouri urologist wants it known those “docs in frocks” at the White House don’t speak for all physicians.

Doctor Sophia Ford-Glanton, a Hannibal-based urologist, is part of what is known as the Sermo community. It’s a group of about 10,000 doctors from across the country who recently delivered what they call their US Physicians Appeal to all Senators at their Capitol Hill offices. These physicians say they believe in pragmatic reform, not politically negotiated reform.

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