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Slow reform
Published 2/14/2012 in Commentary : Editorial
State must move with care on Medicaid overhaul plan.
The pleas are many to slow down Gov. Sam Brownback's planned overhaul of the state's Medicaid program. Legislators from both sides of the aisle have suggested the timetable simply is too quick to effectively transfer management of the $2.9 billion program to private insurance companies. Advocates for the developmentally disabled remain unconvinced the so-called KanCare reforms will be the best for their clients.
While we wouldn't expect many of the 350,000 Kansans currently receiving health care through Medicaid to have lobbyists at the ready in Topeka, we suspect their words would fall on deaf ears as well.
The Brownback administration hasn't even heard back from the federal government whether a waiver will be granted to allow Kansas moving into a private managed-care program, yet it's full speed ahead. The governor is seeking three insurance companies to manage coverage of the state's poor, disabled and older citizens beginning Jan. 1, 2013.
When asked if such a massive restructuring could or should be delayed, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer said simply: "Why would we?"
Perhaps this week's announcement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas might provide an answer to that very question. The state's largest insurance company isn't even going to bid on the Medicaid contract. ...
This bears repeating: A company that already covers 880,000 Kansans, operates in all Kansas counties except two, and processed more than 16 million claims in 2010 worth more than $2 billion, doesn't believe it can responsibly change that quickly.
Were Blue Cross Blue Shield to enter the Medicaid side of things, critics easily could argue the company would obtain monopoly status. By abstaining from the bid process, such arguments won't need to take place.
BCBS' recognition there is not enough time to adequately plan such an enormous change in this critical health-care segment is laudable. We hope this implicit plea catches the ear of the Brownback administration. The governor's intention is good, as services could be improved and costs should be brought down. But if ever a fast track was not needed, this is the time. There is no need to jeopardize care for the state's most vulnerable populations.
-- The Hays Daily News
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