Louisiana Gov. Jindal’s Plan for Medicaid Overhaul Similar to Republican Efforts for Medicare in 1995, Editorial States
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) "recently announced a major renovation of the way his state provides health coverage to the poor and uninsured, thus taking up a topic for which most Republicans require a shot of epinephrine just to pay attention," a Wall Street Journal editorial states. As part of his proposal, Jindal "plans to steer working-poor Medicaid recipients out of the current 'fee-for-service;' program" to private managed care plans, where the state would pay a fixed per-patient amount. This is essentially using "Medicaid dollars to fund something like private insurance," which would allow physicians and hospitals to "be compensated for outcomes -- rather than volume of visits and procedures -- and get incentive payments for good performance," according to the Journal.
The editorial continues, "Such a 'defined contribution' plan is one way to wrestle run-amok health costs back under control and spend more responsibly," adding, "It isn't a new idea," as congressional Republicans passed a similar reform in 1995 for Medicare, "but it is a good one." If the state is able to "increase the value of its Medicaid dollars and free up other funding, it will also be able to expand eligibility," according to the Journal. Jindal currently is in talks with CMS about a waiver to experiment with the program; however, "If the talks aren't wrapped up soon, Mr. Jindal will be forced to start over with [President-elect] Barack Obama's team, which will be hostile to reforms that bank on the private sector," according to the Journal. The editorial concludes that "Jindal's proposal is a far better idea" than temporarily increasing the federal medical assistance percentage, which is being considered for inclusion in an economic stimulus package (Wall Street Journal, 11/24).
