Blog written by W. Stephen Love

The Medicaid program was originally authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1965, which was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Today, Medicaid covers one in five low-income Americans as the majority of enrollees lack access to affordable health insurance. Each state administers the Medicaid program and must comply with federal standards.

States have flexibility in determining covered populations, covered services, delivery models and reimbursement. They are also guaranteed federal matching dollars for services to beneficiaries, so the Medicaid program is financed jointly by federal and state dollars. Due to this flexibility, Medicaid programs vary greatly from state to state.

People frequently ask me about the Texas uninsured population, which is the highest in the U.S. Why does Medicaid not provide them with coverage? Texas Medicaid healthcare covers pregnant women, children and disabled adults, subject to an income test. Additionally, Texas decided not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, so many individuals that could have received coverage do not qualify.

People also ask since the Medicaid budget continues to rise, why don’t we reduce payments? The answer is payments do not cover the cost of the services and many providers, especially physicians, elect not to participate. The Medicaid budget increases due to volume growth of more enrollees every year. If we examined the “per member per month” rate, it would be flat.

We should also remember that the total Medicaid expenditures will exceed $40 billion this year, but the federal government payments cover over 50 percent of that amount. Many people think this number is funded entirely by Texas taxpayers.

Governor Greg Abbott named Courtney Phillips as the new Executive Commissioner for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. We welcome her and will support efforts to improve the health of all Texans. Additionally, we thank state legislators as they prepare for the 86th Legislative Session which opens in January 2019.

We all want better health, better care and better value for all Texans, but we must work collaboratively to improve coverage. We must reduce the uninsured, budget appropriate Medicaid dollars and preserve the pre-existing protection for beneficiaries.

Through cooperation, we will move the needle in the right direction.

W. Stephen Love
President/CEO
Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council
( 972 ) 719 4900

The information contained in this transmission may contain privileged and confidential information, including patient information protected by federal and state privacy laws. It is intended only for the use of the person(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution, or duplication of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version. Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council, DFWHC Foundation, Group One, 300 Decker Drive, Irving, Texas, 75062, www.dfwhc.org