Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett may have kept an聽eye this week聽on his fellow Republican governor聽in Ohio, John Kasich, as Kasich bypassed his own Republican legislature to expand the state鈥檚 Medicaid program. As part of the Affordable Care Act, states have the option to give coverage to low-income adults, with the federal government picking up most of the tab. Only about half the states so far have planned to do that, starting Jan. 1, and Pennsylvania has, so far, not been among them.
But Corbett is now canvassing the state touting his new , which calls for accepting the generous federal Medicaid dollars to expand the program, though with certain caveats.
At the St. Christopher鈥檚 Hospital for Children hospital in North Philadelphia recently, Corbett said: 鈥淲e need a medical insurance program that鈥檚 designed for Pennsylvania. One size does not fit all,鈥� and outlined his concept.
Healthy Pennsylvania would direct newly eligible people, mostly low-income adults without children, into the health insurance exchange where they could buy private coverage. That鈥檚 in contrast to how it works now, where the state puts Medicaid patients into private managed care plans or sets the rates for what doctors and hospitals are paid. Corbett鈥檚 idea is to聽use those new federal expansion funds to help subsidize people buying their own individual plans instead.
Corbett is passionate about the reasoning behind Healthy Pennsylvania: 鈥淢ost important, it鈥檚 not putting 500,000 more people into an entitlement program. It鈥檚 putting them in a program where they are invested in the program, they are invested in their health care, in a way where a person in Medicaid may not have that same personal investment,鈥� he said.
Letting States 鈥楤e Creative鈥�?
Last month, the federal government approved a plan by Arkansas that allows new Medicaid recipients to shop for coverage on the insurance exchange. The Arkansas decision shows that the feds are willing to let states be creative with the expanded program. Corbett鈥檚 plan differs from Arkansas鈥檚 though, so federal approval is not guaranteed. He鈥檇 also change some current Medicaid benefits and include a job training component.
鈥淭he governor is looking for a way to draw down the federal money,鈥� . She鈥檚 not surprised by Corbett鈥檚 latest move 鈥� she believes the federal money can be too much of an opportunity for Democrat icOR Republican Governors to pass up: 鈥淭he legislature may or may not be on board, but the governor recognizes a lot of federal money to be had that will likely save the state a lot of money in the long run.鈥�
When the Supreme Court gave the states the option last year to expand Medicaid, many Republicans didn鈥檛 have an appetite to do it, no matter who paid the bill, according to Matt Baker, a Republican lawmaker in Pennyslvania who chairs the state鈥檚 house health committee. 鈥淭he Democrats in Harrisburg by-and-large support a full blown Medicaid expansion. The Republicans do not. And we鈥檙e very, very concerned about the cost.鈥�
But Baker doesn鈥檛 view Corbett鈥檚 plan as an expansion聽because of the shared responsibility element and proposed changes to current Medicaid. He鈥檚 not in full support until he gets more details, but the plan doesn鈥檛 appear to be facing severe political backlash. After all, conversations about Medicaid had been began seeping into the political discourse months earlier, .
Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader, Republican Dominic Pileggi, said 鈥淚t would be foolish to leave people uninsured鈥� which would leave hospitals and doctors providing free care to 鈥渦ninsured individuals while money we send to Washington goes to other states to deal with their issues.鈥�
Democratic leaders worry Corbett鈥檚 moving too slowly and say they, too, want more details.
But at least some advocates for a full expansion are cautiously optimistic, including Michael Race of Pennsylvania鈥檚 Partnership for Children. While he 鈥渨ould have preferred to see Medicaid expansion put on the table,鈥� and says he was hopeful early on a plan would surface.
The whole plan isn鈥檛 a done deal, but Huberfeld, with the University of Kentucky, says one thing is clear: Federal officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have signaled from the outset that they鈥檙e willing to work with states to give them maximum flexibility to expand Medicaid under their own terms.
This story is part of a collaboration that includes , and Kaiser Health News.