UHC Ending Medicaid Contract in WI (plan, hospital, benefits, Kaiser)

[Ariadne22]

Apparently, the state changed the deal with UHC - after it won its bid in 2010. Essentially, it sounds as though, for now, WI is cutting out the middleman (UHC). Bet they'll be dropping families from the program very soon.

UnitedHealthcare ends BadgerCare Plus contract with state - JSOnline

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by Ariadne22

Apparently, the state changed the deal with UHC - after it won its bid in 2010. Essentially, it sounds as though, for now, WI is cutting out the middleman (UHC). Bet they'll be dropping families from the program very soon.

UnitedHealthcare ends BadgerCare Plus contract with state - JSOnline

More of this could be expected by 2013 if the Ryan plan goes forward. Unlike the Medicare portion which is delayed 10 years, the Medicaid block grants would start immediately and save the slash the fed budget by $800B over 10 years. The states would no could reduce the benefits and tighten the requirements to qualify. Ariadne, I listened to the entire Cspan link that you sent. I was amazed at the poverty stricken guy from new york that was complaining about the copays that the evil dems make him pay, but insisted he would support ryan because the ryan plan would benefit him!
I'm afraid that some of these poor people are too stupid to vote their interests.
Primer: How Paul Ryan's Plan Would Change Medicaid | PBS NewsHour

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by wehotex

Ariadne, I listened to the entire Cspan link that you sent. I was amazed at the poverty stricken guy from new york that was complaining about the copays that the evil dems make him pay, but insisted he would support ryan because the ryan plan would benefit him!
I'm afraid that some of these poor people are too stupid to vote their interests.
Primer: How Paul Ryan's Plan Would Change Medicaid | PBS NewsHour

Yes. He was assuming there would be no copays in the Ryan plan. Hahahahaha. I'm sure he never gave it another thought, even when the guest asked him why he believed that. C-Span doesn't usually allow rebuttal from the callers, but in that, and many other cases, I wonder what his answer would have been to her Q - or if he even really understood her point.

The ignorance and stupidity of the voting public is alarming. I've cut back a bit on the C-Span watching the past few days because of this - quite depressing how stupid, ignorant, bigoted, misinformed, uninformed, unintelligent, undiscerning far too many of the voting public are. You can hear the most outlandish comments daily on C-Span. This is why the politicians can lie, and lie, and lie, and lie - and are believed.

They have NO RESPECT for the voting public, consider most of us a bunch of gullible fools - or "rubes" as I heard the other night (again on C-Span. a seminar video) from someone who had been a House staffer for decades.

[texdav]

Deosn't sound like nay of this has to do with Ryan plan one way or the other.I think n matter hwat we can lok for reductions coming i states and federal plans including lower medicare payments. So far the only cuts I see is the reducede payments to providers in meedicare and cut to medicare of 500 bilio i te eyars to pay fopr new healthcare bill.

[Ariadne22]

A comment from what is apparently an "insider" - with a political POV, of course - stating the previous administration signed a contract it had no intention of honoring.

The big cut came under Gov. Doyle when his crew that ran the program screwed providers and insurers by promising changes that didn't occur and made deeper cuts to funding of the managed care program than they said they were making. They literally lied to the health plans, then found back-door ways to not make payments to them.

Gov. Walker's team has been making positive changes to try and stabilize a program that was left in complete shambles by Gov. Doyle's team. Gov. Doyle's crew drove out many long-time and very knowledgable state employees who tried to slow the changes that didn't make sense. The Doyle Amdinistration's response was to reassign out of the program anyone who didn't go along with their crazy plans. We lost a lot of good people in the process and were left with a group that barely knew what they doing.

Gov. Walker's team has been working to put things back together and maintain a program that was left grossly underfunded.

UnitedHealthcare ends BadgerCare Plus contract with state - JSOnline

The truth may lie somewhere in between Doyle malfeasance and Walker budget priorities.

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by texdav

Deosn't sound like nay of this has to do with Ryan plan one way or the other.I think n matter hwat we can lok for reductions coming i states and federal plans including lower medicare payments. So far the only cuts I see is the reducede payments to providers in meedicare and cut to medicare of 500 bilio i te eyars to pay fopr new healthcare bill.

No one is talking about the Ryan plan. This thread is about United Healthcare withdrawing from Medicaid in WI, which has nothing to do with Ryan - unless you're making the leap, since he's from WI, the inference is he is at fault? Nowhere was this said or implied.

On the Medicare "cuts," since you bring it up, it all depends on where you get your information and how you interpret what you learn/read/hear.

The "other side" says the $716b is a savings (slowing the growth) incurred by correction of overpayments (too-high reimbursements, coupled with lowering waste, fraud and abuse through improved technology) which will go to preventive benefits and closing of the drug doughnut hole.

I've heard, numerous times, from various health care "experts" on C-Span - whether it be Kaiser or an Association representing the health care industry - there are NO cuts. The so-called "robbing" of Medicare is essentially an agreement by the hospitals not to raise rates, in return for greater reimbursements of those hospitals' Medicaid and charity care costs.

It can be argued those savings should be put back in Medicare and not go to pay Medicaid/charity care.

However, again, the "other side" says the savings is going back to Medicare in the form of support for preventive services and closing of the drug doughnut hole.

Who do you believe? Probably, again, the answer is somewhere between the two POV's. Each side is haranguing on one side of the issue without, conveniently, factoring in the whole picture, in order to promote their more narrow particular political agenda.

Stay tuned.