The State’s Medicaid Reform Advisory Group has met for the last six months in relative obscurity. That changed today (Wednesday) when more than 200 parents, doctors and physical therapists showed up to testify about a list of proposed “innovations” the group hopes will help curtail the growing cost of program. The message the group heard was that the reforms would have huge impacts on the people who rely on Medicaid for health services.
Commissioner Streur says he was pleased with the level of public involvement at the meeting. He says he heard good recommendations on specific reform ideas. One of the things he took away from the meeting is that a cookie cutter approach to reform won’t work:
Commissioner Streur says he’s committed to getting a list of reform ideas to the governor by the deadline of Nov. 15. But he says that is just the start of the next phase of the process, which will involve more analysis on each reform.
Still, for committee member Sandra Heffern, the testimony highlighted how rushed the process has been. Governor Parnell announced he was creating the Medicaid Reform Advisory Group last November. Members were appointed in March and have been meeting monthly since April. Heffern, who is a health care consultant with a background in home healthcare services, says there hasn’t been enough time for deep discussion on the recommendations:
“The recommendations are these are things we need to further explore, but to say were going to do any kind of reform based on any of the innovations that are brought forward is well I don’t want to use the word ludicrous, but that’s what comes to mind,” Heffern said.
See Full Story at AlaskaPublic.org
