By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Government Pays Bonuses for Increasing Medicaid Expenditures
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > Government Pays Bonuses for Increasing Medicaid Expenditures
BusinessHealth ReformPolicy & Law

Government Pays Bonuses for Increasing Medicaid Expenditures

JohnCGoodman
Last updated: August 26, 2017 1:45 pm
JohnCGoodman
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

In December, HHS announced the bonuses for 15 states that had made “significant progress in enrolling uninsured children in Medicaid.” The 2010 bonuses totaled $206.2 million. They were double the $75 million that was awarded to ten states in 2009. Despite HHS claims, there is no way that it can be shown that the additional children enrolled were previously uninsured or even that they needed taxpayer supported health care. When the 2009 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization sailed through Congress, it included a bonus program for states that increased Medicaid expenditures by enrolling more children. Cynics would note that in health programs children are used as a relatively inexpensive wedge to start program expansions. Children are the healthiest segments of the population so the program seems inexpensive and later it can be argued that a child’s health depends on the health of his parents and that it is excessively burdensome to exclude parents. Cynics would also note that enrolling more people protects programs against significant reform or cancellation. To get a bonus, a state had to incorporate 5 of 8 federally mandated features into its Medicaid program. All of the mandated features increased expenditures. Some made it easier to commit fraud. Required features included reducing or eliminating asset tests for Medicaid eligibility, ending in-person interviews, providing 12 months of continuous Medicaid coverage upon enrollment regardless of income, and using the same application for both the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance programs. To be eligible, states had to show that they increased child enrollment beyond the increases that would have been expected to result from the recession. In a study of the effect of continuous coverage on utilization patterns in Medi-Cal in 2001, researchers funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation were shocked by the “largely unexpected” finding that the rate of unnecessary ER visits for children with continuous coverage was nearly double that of children who were on and off Medicaid. It is not clear why this result was “unexpected.” The existing literature showed that the uninsured used emergency rooms at about the same rate as the privately insured, and that people with Medicaid coverage, who pay relatively little to use the ER, tend to be disproportionately high ER users. In many states, the state agency that runs Medicaid gets more of its budget from the federal government than from state taxpayers. This creates an obvious conflict of interest for the agency if its federal paymaster wishes to spend more than state taxpayers can afford. In Colorado, a bonus of $13.7 million equaled roughly a quarter of the total amount that the state spent on the 288 FTEs (SIO) in the Executive Director’s Office of the state’s Medicaid oversight agency.

TAGGED:health care businesshealth care reformMedicare
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Deploying Health IT and Patient-Centered Process Improvement for Innovation

September 16, 2012

It’s National Nurses Week. Check Your Nursing IQ.

May 8, 2012
MRI sedation options
Global Healthcare

MRI Sedation Options: What You Should Know Before Screening

May 17, 2023

Health Care Costs and the Medical Malpractice Myth

January 21, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?