"Planned Medicaid cuts hit dental, home care; Patrick must trim $117m; higher copays expected" by Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | November 14, 2009
More than a million low-income Massachusetts residents covered by Medicaid would be required to pay more for visits to certain doctors and receive prior approval for some expensive psychiatric medications under a plan announced yesterday by the Patrick administration to narrow a $307 million shortfall in the state’s MassHealth program.
Some of the biggest changes are in dental care for adults, who would no longer receive dentures or other oral care except for cleanings, X-rays, and emergency services. That change alone is expected to save about $15 million this fiscal year, said interim Medicaid director Terence Dougherty.
Yeah, thanks, gov!
I have MassHealth - because I have to or I'm penalized with a tax -- and when my teeth rot out I'll be sure to remember it at the ballot box! Gritting my teeth during these posts is not helping.
Under the proposals, the state will also stop paying for personal care attendants for patients requiring the in-home aides less than 15 hours a week. Medicaid is jointly financed by the state and federal governments: For every 38 cents the state spends on MassHealth, Washington chips in 62 cents, so Massachusetts has to come up with savings of about $117 million.
Yup, we have TRILLIONS for WARS and BANKS down there, but NOTHING FOR HEALTH!!!!
As for the state: State Keeps Watering Evergreen
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride on the T
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride
UBS Picks Up Pike
Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
The Hollywood Heist of Massachusetts
Why Massachusetts Needed to Raise Taxes
Massachusetts' Business Tax Increase Was a Corporate Tax CutTax Increase Fails to Save Massachusetts Services
Blood All Over Massachusetts State Budget
State Government On Probation
The Next Taxachusetts Tax Increase
Bankers' Bark Worse Than Bite to State
Slow Saturday Special: Patrick Pimps Football Footpath For Patriots
The Compassionate Budget Choices of Massachusetts
The State of Massachusetts is Mentally Ill
Seems like PLENTY of MILLIONS floating around out there!
Maybe if Partners quit ripping us off?
Dougherty said the administration’s strategy was to avoid, as much as possible, eliminating programs and instead to reduce services across a broad spectrum. “I think the very design the governor put out to us was to ensure that necessary services remain intact and that we don’t outright eliminate things,’’ said Dougherty. “That’s about the only solace I can offer anybody.’’
Well, your bedside manner sucks!
Dougherty said the recession and widespread job losses have swelled the number of residents seeking assistance through the Medicaid program by more than the Patrick administration anticipated when it put together this year’s budget proposal a year ago. Today, more than 1.2 million residents are receiving Medicaid assistance, up 115,000 from a year ago. At the same time, the administration is struggling to plug a $600 million gap in the rest of the state budget.
So WHERE is OUR BAILOUT, huh?
WTF? BANKS and WARS get TRILLIONS and BILLIONS!
Dougherty said that copayments for office visits to specialists would double, to $6. Most patients would pay about $1 more for generic medications, and copayments for brand name drugs would jump from $3 to $5 for people who make more than about $15,000 a year.
And you CAN'T AFFORD THEM NOW even if you HAVE A JOB!!!
The state also wants mental health patients to get prior approval from MassHealth before they can fill prescriptions for certain brand name antidepressants and other psychiatric medications if comparable generic drugs are available.
Ah, SKIP the MIND-NUMBING POISON PILLS, Bay-Staters!
Advocates for the poor, disabled, and elderly criticized the proposals, saying the administration was attempting to balance the budget on the backs of the state’s most vulnerable citizens.
Yeah, AS USUAL here in "liberal, compassionate" Massachusetts!
The cuts to dental care and in-home health services, they said, would be especially painful.
LITERALLY!
“Dentures aren’t a luxury,’’ said AARP Massachusetts state director Deborah Banda. “And if you are someone who relies on a personal care attendant to help you get out of bed or to the bathroom, that’s not a luxury either. Before the Commonwealth takes one more basic necessity away from our most vulnerable residents, let’s exhaust every other option.’’
You mean, get the money back from looting interests?
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Also drawing stinging reaction was the administration’s proposal to eliminate all of the funding for nursing home pre-screening, a $2.5 million cut that advocates said could force many more seniors into nursing homes. The counseling explores other options that can help people stay at home longer, such as personal care services. “This program is a money saver, because it diverts people from nursing homes,’’ said Al Norman, executive director of Mass Home Care.
And when I SEE the HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of DOLLARS this state is GIVING AWAY to CORPORATE and WELL-CONNECTED INTERESTS -- it makes me want to cry!
The residents of this state are getting f***ed and they don't even know it.
The cuts identified so far, which also include some reduced payments to hospitals for patients who stay beyond 20 days, add up to about a third of the savings needed.
Or what, they TOSS YOU OUT on to the STREET like in "Sicko?"
Dougherty said his agency will also be scouring its budget to make sure the federal government is reimbursing the state for the full amount it is owed, and he intends to ask state lawmakers for a modest cash infusion, though he declined to elaborate.
What, ANOTHER TAX INCREASE?
Aaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh!!!!!!
Dougherty said the proposed increases in patient copayments, cuts in dental services, and the elimination of the nursing home prescreening probably will not go into effect until April because state lawmakers must first approve the measures and then hold public hearings. He said he expects legislators to vote next week.
That is NOT an AWFUL LOT of TIME to HEAR FROM US!!!
State Senator Steven Panagiotakos, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the proposed cuts were difficult, but given the enormity of the state’s fiscal problems and the fact that lawmakers had already borrowed heavily from the rainy day fund, they had limited options....
Yeah, EXCEPT THEIR OWN $32 MILLION SLUSH FUND!
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But the INSURANCE COMPANIES STILL MADE PROFITS!!!!!
"Three health insurers post profits; Quarter shows rebound after earlier losses" by Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | November 14, 2009
Three of the four largest health insurers in Massachusetts swung back to profitability in the third quarter, after all four posted second-quarter losses.
Did you swing back to profitability, Bay-Stater?
Job losses still increasing, right?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Inc.’s HMO Blue subsidiary lost $3 million. But as a whole, the Boston firm earned $17.1 million in the quarter on revenue of $1.6 billion. That’s off 70 percent from the same period last year, but much better than the second quarter of 2009, when Blue Cross-Blue Shield lost $33.6 million. The company has lost a total of $53.2 million so far this year. The insurer’s chief financial officer, Allen Maltz, placed much of the blame on unusually severe outbreaks of influenza in February, June, and September, in addition to the rise of the H1N1 flu pandemic. “We have all the normal seasonal flu expenses, and then we have H1N1 on top of that,’’ said Maltz.
Hey, I DIDN'T GIN up a VACCINATION CAMPAIGN so PHARMACEUTICALS could get RICH!
In addition, the economic downturn has caused many older workers to stay on the job instead of retiring. That means the average age of employees at companies that offer Blue Cross-Blue Shield plans has risen. “An increase in the average age of the population leads directly to increased medical costs,’’ said Maltz.
Should I just crawl into a hole and die, or.... ?
I mean, I'm costing the health system profits, so.... ?
Tufts Health Plan in Watertown posted net income of $22.1 million on revenue of $644.5 million. That’s an improvement over the $17.3 million earned in the same period last year. During the first nine months of the year, the plan earned $8.8 million on revenue of $1.9 billion, but during the second quarter, Tufts lost $204,000....
They are still playing with house money!
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Wellesley reported net income of $13.6 million on revenue of $684.1 million, compared to a $2.3 million loss in the second quarter, and income of $23.8 million in the third quarter of 2008.... In the first nine months of 2009, the insurer earned $8.3 million on revenue of $2 billion.
Fallon Community Health Plan in Worcester reported a $13.4 million loss for the third quarter, on revenue of $283 million, compared to a $5.7 million profit last year. So far, the plan has lost $16.3 million in 2009, on $831 million in revenue. “Our results show that we’re not immune to the economic challenges Massachusetts is facing,’’ said chief financial officer Charles Goheen in a prepared statement. Goheen cited as factors inadequate medical reimbursements from state and federal governments, higher-than-expected insurance claims, and a continued increase in medical care costs.
Looks like they were the only unlucky ones, huh?
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- The Massachusetts Model: Comes At a Premium
- The Massachusetts Model: Screwing Small Business
- The Massachusetts Model: Going Out of Business
- The Massachusetts Model: Crazy Coverage
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- The Massachusetts Model: Profit and the Paycheck
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- The Massachusetts Model: Lessons Learned
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