RGBC
New Member
- 5
On April 9, 2018, the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) organization published a study entitled, "The Value of Medicaid: Providing Access to Care and Preventive Health Services."
The purpose of the study is to support the expansion of Medicaid and demonstrate how access to Medicaid has improved access to preventive healthcare and overall healthcare. Using demographics, statistics, and general healthcare treatment examples, the AHIP builds a broad argument. The organization goes even further to make a comparison between those insured under medicaid and private insurance in order to convey that medicaid is narrowing their differences.
I found the study to be straight-forward, optimistic, but belaboring in some points. There is a lot of filler and notes on additional studies. The demographics section is probably the most insightful.
There are also some underlying influential aspects that go way beyond the data. Specifically there are cultural & political and financial aspects that must be considered.
This study is clearly supporting Medicaid, but what about the cultural & political oppositions that it faces in each state?
More specifically...
At the end of the day, we don't only need to reevaluate the medicaid statistics, but we also need to redesign it. There are embedded biases, misdiagnoses, and negative connotations that are tied to it and need to be done away with.
The purpose of the study is to support the expansion of Medicaid and demonstrate how access to Medicaid has improved access to preventive healthcare and overall healthcare. Using demographics, statistics, and general healthcare treatment examples, the AHIP builds a broad argument. The organization goes even further to make a comparison between those insured under medicaid and private insurance in order to convey that medicaid is narrowing their differences.
I found the study to be straight-forward, optimistic, but belaboring in some points. There is a lot of filler and notes on additional studies. The demographics section is probably the most insightful.
There are also some underlying influential aspects that go way beyond the data. Specifically there are cultural & political and financial aspects that must be considered.
This study is clearly supporting Medicaid, but what about the cultural & political oppositions that it faces in each state?
More specifically...
Will healthy low-income individuals add to that states economy or workforce?
Will providing access to healthcare lower the crime rate?
Will this expansion trigger an all out democratic and republican war in that state?
Not to mention the financial/business operations considerations.....Will providing access to healthcare lower the crime rate?
Will this expansion trigger an all out democratic and republican war in that state?
Does that states hospital's have the capacity to treat more medicaid patients? Will they need more staff?
Are there savings to be earned from taking on more capacity? And Accepting more medicaid reimbursements?
What are the long-term financial gains from investing in treating medicaid patients? What are the upfront costs?
Asking these questions is like opening Pandora's Box for some state officials. However, they might have to face the music with rising issues like the Opioid crises and vicious Flu Epidemics impacting each state. These are problems that go from impacting the uninsured and spilling over into the insured's life.Are there savings to be earned from taking on more capacity? And Accepting more medicaid reimbursements?
What are the long-term financial gains from investing in treating medicaid patients? What are the upfront costs?
At the end of the day, we don't only need to reevaluate the medicaid statistics, but we also need to redesign it. There are embedded biases, misdiagnoses, and negative connotations that are tied to it and need to be done away with.
