Preserve the safety net. That's the message sent by AAFP and its Partnership for Medicaid colleagues in a Nov. 21 letter (PDF file: 3 pages / 63.1 KB. More about PDFs.) to the chairs and ranking members of a congressional conference committee that is working toward a final Medicaid budget.
Maintain Medicaid Access, AAFP Tells Congress
By News Staff
11/29/2005
The letter urges the conference committee members to preserve access to health care for the nation's neediest patients by minimizing their Medicaid copayments and by prohibiting states from further limiting benefits or imposing additional cost-sharing.
"Safety net providers disproportionately serve vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women and people with disabilities," the letter says. "Many of these vulnerable individuals would be especially at risk if states were to impose new cost-sharing on Medicaid recipients, make premiums and copayments enforceable, or provide reduced benefits to them. These provisions would eliminate coverage for certain beneficiaries, increase uncompensated care for safety net providers and, ultimately, jeopardize the ability of patients to receive the full spectrum of needed services."
In addition, the partnership calls on the committee to maintain federal responsibility for the cost of targeted case management of care for disabled adults and children with special health needs.
The partnership supports several measures under consideration by the committee. Among them are
"Safety net providers disproportionately serve vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women and people with disabilities," the letter says. "Many of these vulnerable individuals would be especially at risk if states were to impose new cost-sharing on Medicaid recipients, make premiums and copayments enforceable, or provide reduced benefits to them. These provisions would eliminate coverage for certain beneficiaries, increase uncompensated care for safety net providers and, ultimately, jeopardize the ability of patients to receive the full spectrum of needed services."
In addition, the partnership calls on the committee to maintain federal responsibility for the cost of targeted case management of care for disabled adults and children with special health needs.
The partnership supports several measures under consideration by the committee. Among them are
- the House's allocation of $2.5 billion in health-related relief to areas affected by hurricane Katrina and
- continuation of Long Term Care Partnerships and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, which reduce inappropriate use of emergency rooms by linking Medicaid beneficiaries to a regular source of care.
"As providers of care to Medicaid and other low-income populations, we recognize that the Medicaid program is far from perfect and that we clearly can do better to deliver improved health care to America's neediest children and families while lowering the program's out-year costs," the letter says. "To do this successfully, however, we believe we must first protect those covered by Medicaid and the safety net providers who deliver their care."
