False Panic About Medicaid Funding - No Attachments

[Guest guest]

Please see information at the end of this email showing true Medicaid spending and trends for future spending projections. This was sent in case you cannot receive attachments.

Is there a reason that the media in this state fails to report the facts about this situation, rather than the sensationalism that the government provides the media to report? Isn't your job to tell the public what the real situation is in our state? If so, then please take the time to read the attachments and report the truth to the public, instead of what the government wants you to report.

I am appalled at the lack of concern that the media has about the continual reduction in services to the most vulnerable in our society. Please don't brush this under the carpet. Please do a series of stories on the FRONT PAGE of your newspapers and do the lead in your newscasts about this situation. This may not be the blood and guts "ratings getter" that you so often focus on, but there are people suffering and I am sure some are dying due to the continual cuts that the state keeps proposing.

Please don't let the politics dictate your reporting. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen this type of story either never see the light of day or get buried on page 10 of the local section. Why did you all get into the profession, if you are not going to be (at least) as outraged about this type of situation as you are about manatees getting run over by a boat? These are people we are talking about. Living, breathing people, who through no fault of their own, were born with a disability or other health impairment. Don't they deserve appropriate services? Isn't incumbent on our society to take care of those who can't take care of themselves?

False Panic About Medicaid Spending Built on Obsolete Projections

The panic over spiraling Medicaid costs was the driving force behind the rushed development and implementation of the Medicaid Reform experiment. In 2005, Medicaid was thought to be on the verge of bankrupting the State due to rapid growth in program spending. In laying out his case for Reform in 2005, then-Governor Jeb Bush warned that Medicaid could consume $50 billion - nearly 60 percent of the State budget - by 2015 if left unchecked.

The fact is, Medicaid spending patterns have changed dramatically since then. The current official position of the State’s economists is that total Medicaid spending for the 7-year period through June 2012 will be an almost unimaginable $38 billion LOWER than had been projected in 2005 (see chart below).

As for the Governor’s ominous warning about 2015, his $50 billion projection is almost 3 times higher than the current forecast suggested by updated growth trends.

Nevertheless, Medicaid continues to unfairly bear the brunt of the blame for Florida's budget woes, fueling continued demands for reduced Medicaid spending. In particular, the inflated figures have been used to justify proposals to expand the Reform Pilot statewide as well as to eliminate the critical Medically Needy program. But neither proposal is necessary as a "solution" to so obsolete a characterization of the problem.

Florida is currently grappling with a budget crisis. However, it is Florida’s inadequate tax structure and the economic downturn that has caused available revenue to plummet so significantly, NOT the spiraling costs of Medicaid. Florida’s entire budget, not just Medicaid, is presently under severe strain. Making Medicaid the scapegoat for a much more systemic problem is not only inappropriate, it’s grossly unfair to Florida’s sickest and most vulnerable citizens.

To read the complete policy brief on this topic go to www.floridachain.org.

Regards, Ven Sequenzia, Jr. PresidentAutism Society of AmericaState of Florida ChapterPO Box 970646Coconut Creek, FL 33097 VM FaxOne site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today!