Echoes of Scrooge

Except for summertime humidity, the Florida and Connecticut “climates” don’t have a lot in common. 

For example, Connecticut has one of the best climates for health and health care, while Florida’s is in the bottom half.  On the other hand, Florida has one of the best business tax climates, while Connecticut’s is near the rear.

Their political climates are also polar opposites.  Florida’s governor is a Republican, and its Legislature is overwhelmingly Republican.  Connecticut’s governor is a Democrat, and its legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic.

And the difference in their policy climates is reflected in the way they handled their 2011 budget crises.  Connecticut raised taxes and cut spending, while Florida just cut spending.  As a result, Connecticut’s budget now balanced.  Florida, meanwhile, extended its crisis by another year.  And its Governor has just proposed cutting $2 billion from health services alone in his proposed new budget.

But for two states with so little in common, their emerging 2012 Medicaid cost containment strategies are remarkably similar echoes of the ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge.

They both want to “decrease the surplus population” of needy people on the program.  Florida is targeting kids; Connecticut young adults.

In Florida, Health News Florida reported last week that nearly 800,000 Florida residents could be forced off of Medicaid because of a new co-pay Florida has asked the Federal Government to approve.  The vast majority would be children. 

While he awaits the decision of the Feds, Florida’s governor is also proposing massive cuts in Medicaid reimbursements to a host of safety net hospitals.  Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami would be cut by $133.5 million, Memorial Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale would be cut by $58 million, Shands Hospital in Gainesville would be cut by $52 million, Miami Children’s Hospital would lose $35 million, and Tampa General would be slashed over $32 million. 

Shands, Jackson Memorial, and Tampa General all have been ranked among the best hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report.   This would greatly limit poor people’s access to them.

Meanwhile, in Connecticut CT News Junkie reported that a “reduction in health care benefits, asset tests, and a potential cap on enrollment” are all under consideration by the Department overseeing its Medicaid program.

The reason is because its caseload is growing too quickly.  In 2010, Connecticut was the first state to shift 45,000 state-only medical assistance program clients – many young adults – to Medicaid under a provision of the Affordable Care Act.  The Federal Government paid 60% of the cost and the state saved millions.   But the number of people signing up for the program has grown to 70,000 in the last eighteen months, erasing the savings.

So Connecticut has sent a letter to the Federal Government asking permission to change the eligibility requirements for the program and the benefits package.

Even though Connecticut acknowledges in the letter that the poor economy is a reason for the unexpected growth in the program, its solution, like Florida’s, is to deny some of its neediest people access to care.

So here’s the question that both Florida and Connecticut must answer.

If they make these cuts, where do they think these people will go, and who do they think is going to pay the bill?

Workhouses, a favorite of Scrooge’s?  Prisons, which are already the largest mental health providers in the country? 

Or perhaps they want them to go to the hospitals from which Connecticut took $32 million in 2011 and Florida wants to take millions more in 2012? 

Of course, in both states there are good, local alternatives to cutting and slashing, and wishing and hoping that poor people will recover from disease and disability on their own. 

Connecticut could offer the same wellness and disease management program to these Medicaid recipients as it offers its 50,000 state employees.  The State projects that it will save over $100 million this way – close to what it hopes to save in Medicaid cuts. 

And Florida could stop slashing public health and prevention – which already took a $56 million hit in 2011 – and instead increasefunding to local public health departments by 10%, giving them the flexibility to spend the new dollars anyway they want.

A Health Affairsarticle this past summer showed that this approach leads to reductions in cancers, heart disease, and infant deaths (here’s a link to a related article and chart I created from the data).   

Wouldn’t these cost-saving options be preferable to a Scrooge-like denial of care to desperate children and destitute young adults? 

If you have questions about this column, or wish to receive an email notifying you when new Our Health Policy Matters columns are published, please email gionfriddopaul@gmail.com.