Keep Private Business from Taking Over Medicaid

Representative Jim Ward has proposed HB2573 to provide transparency and independent evaluation of the governor’s plan to turn Medicaid over to insurance companies with a lot of safeguards and guarantees that seemingly protect the basic structure of the program. But buzz words like “transparency” and “independent” have only taught me to be on my guard when I hear them. Is this a “good cop bad cop routine” to make us all feel assured that the best of intentions will win the day? What is to be gained by a private company taking over this now, government run entity? Even if no services or payout are initially affected, is this just a ploy to win the acceptance of most people so they can get their foot in the door? Is the real horror story yet to come? These insurance companies are not volunteering to do this job for nothing and it will cost the taxpayers more in the end. Common sense tells us that. If the plan is to run more efficiently to pay their costs, just where is this efficiency coming from? They have to cut something to make a profit. The state has been running this program for years. Surely they have the expertise required to make it run just as efficiently as any outside insurance company. Tell Governor Brownback thanks but no thanks.