medicaid

(This column appeared in Steamboat Today on Aug. 17, 2011)

By Bob Semro

Steamboat Springs – July 30, 1965, was a milestone date in American history. On that day 46 years ago, the Social Security Act of 1965 was signed into law. That legislation introduced two new programs, Medicare and Medicaid. We take them for granted now, without realizing how much they have achieved and how much we rely on them.

July 30, 1965, was a milestone date in American history. On that day, the Social Security Act of 1965 was signed into law. That legislation, implemented a year later (45 years ago), introduced two new programs, Medicare and Medicaid. We take them for granted now, often without realizing how much they have achieved and how much we rely on them.

Remember "death panels" from the debates over health care reform? That's how opponents of national health care reform labeled a provision that would have compensated doctors for counseling their Medicare patients about end-of life decisions such as advanced directives and living wills. This reasonable and common-sense provision was removed from the Affordable Care Act because of the furor created by   politically motivated misrepresentation.

Now we have the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and the "death panel" rhetoric has started up again.

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This week, just about everyone who is anyone in health care policy in Colorado is hanging out at the Colorado Health Foundation's annual symposium in Keystone. One patient we hope they take some time to examine is General Fund, who is in poor health these days.

The Health Care Affordability Act of 2009 is one of Colorado's most effective reforms, but the program it fostered could be in jeopardy because budget-cutters in Washington are targeting the federal funding that makes the act work.

As talks continue on deficit reduction and increasing the debt ceiling, a number of proposals are zeroing in on the federal matching funds that cover hospital "provider fees" and help support Medicaid funding. Colorado is not alone among states that could lose funds.

Democrats went on the offensive yesterday, attacking Republicans over a proposal to privatize Medicare and scale back Medicaid.

The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate yesterday easily rejected a Republican-controlled House-backed budget plan calling for major reforms to the nation's health care programs.

Colorado progressive groups said such reforms to the nation's health care programs for the poor and elderly would cost Colorado greatly.

By Bob Semro

In our last email, we discussed the Ryan budget plan and its broader implications for health care and the Affordable Care Act. In this email, we focus on Colorado and the impact on Medicaid.

Many people don't realize that the budget proposal put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April, is the also the most significant piece of health care legislation since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Even though the Ryan budget plan as now constructed is not likely to become law, it represents an official alternative and warrants real debate. Most of the conversation has centered on changes to Medicare, but the impact on other federal health care programs and the Affordable Care Act itself are even more profound.

A few years ago, many Colorado hospitals faced a common problem: how to cover the cost of patients without insurance.

Hospitals can't turn away the sick, and if uninsured patients couldn't pay for their care, or public programs did not cover the hospital's cost, the bill for that "uncompensated care" was passed on, or shifted, to individuals and businesses with health-care coverage.

In 2009, lawmakers passed the Colorado Health Care Affordability Act to help address this problem. The Colorado Hospital Association and doctors and consumer groups supported the law.

By Bob Semro

A few years ago, many Colorado hospitals faced a common problem: how to cover the cost of patients without insurance.

Hospitals can't turn away the sick, and if uninsured patients couldn't pay for their care, or public programs did not cover the hospital's cost, the bill for that "uncompensated care" was passed on, or shifted, to individuals and businesses with health care coverage.