June 2011 Medicaid Cuts - A Sign of Things to Come?

Medicare/Medicaid sends out monthly updates to providers letting them know changes in Medicare/Medicaid coverage.

In the June update, Medicaid announced it will no longer cover circumcisions for newborns and they cut the diabetic supply benefit nearly in half. While circumcisions can arguably be "elective", diabetic supplies are not, and this is alarming.

Should we be concerned about these changes? Yes! These were just two changes in one month, and we see these changes and cuts every single month. Medicare/Medicaid are government run medical care programs, and as a country, we have a new health care mandate that will largely be dictated by the government.

As it stands now, if my private health insurance cut my required diabetic benefit in half, I have a choice to find another insurance provider. As it stands now, health insurance companies have to compete for my business. If they don't provide decent coverage at a reasonable price, we go can go elsewhere. Its called competition and insurance providers have to work to earn our business.

The big argument has been how much of a profit insurance companies make. While it does seem outlandish, we need to take a step back and think about this for a second. If insurance companies don't have money in the bank, and a major disaster strikes, their beneficiaries are left with no coverage because they essentially run out of money. Would you rather have an insurance company with limited funds, or an insurance company that will continue to be sound even if a major disaster strikes?

Yes, there are flaws. Yes, changes need to be made. More people need to be covered and charges for a lot of procedures need to be substantially reduced. Nobody argues that.

Are we sure a complete overhaul and guardianship by our government is the answer?