Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Rounds Up Recent Editorials on Public Health Programs
The following is a summary of four recent editorials examining states' attempts to address public health program costs:
- Bangor Daily News: Discussing proposed state legislation that would create a single-payer, universal health insurance program in Maine, the editorial challenges a contention that the bill would raise costs and that even without a universal health system, the uninsured do receive health services, "just not through the same means as the insured." The editorial says a New England Journal of Medicine study published last fall "raises serious doubts about this second point," finding that the "cost of not receiving care is significantly higher than assumed." The editorial concludes: "Restricting health coverage, it turns out, appears to be a shortsighted way to save money" (Bangor Daily News, 1/10).
- Indianapolis Star: While the editorial "empathize[s] with worried foster parents, nursing home operators and advocates for the disabled," it says Indiana "must make deep cuts in Medicaid to bring its budget back into balance." Still, stating that changes recently proposed by the state's Medicaid office "appear reasonable," the editorial concludes: "Medicaid expenditures [which have grown about 49% in the past six years] must be brought under control, but the state doesn't have to forget the needs of its poorest and sickest residents in the process" (Indianapolis Star, 1/9).
- Denver Rocky Mountain News: "Medicaid is the monster that ate Colorado -- or it will be soon, if steps aren't taken to control costs," the editorial states. Thus, the editorial supports a proposal from the state that would reduce payments to pharmacies that fill prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries (Denver Rocky Mountain News, 12/31/01).
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The editorial opposes a proposed bill that would scale back the income eligibility ceiling for Missouri's CHIP program, called MC+ for Kids. The editorial concludes: "In the short term, trimming eligibility for MC+ for Kids may save a few dollars, but it is a false economy. In the long run, children's health is the best investment Missouri can make" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1/10).
