Jim Frogue Speaks at the 3rd National Medicaid Congress

Date: June 5, 2008

Location: Washington, DC

http://www.medicaidcongress.com/

Center Project Director Jim Frogue served on a panel at the Third National Medicaid Congress.  The panel, titled, “The Future of Medicaid and State Reform,” also consisted of Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute, Leighton Ku of George Washington University, and Ron Pollack from Families USA.  The Medicaid Congress is a 3-day event that brings together stakeholders in the Medicaid debate:  state officials, legislators, industry representatives, and others.  The goal of the Congress was to address critical questions about the future of Medicaid, including state and federal health reform, long-term care reform, and quality improvement programs.  Each member of the panel gave introductory remarks, which were then followed by a group question and answer session.

Frogue began his remarks by emphasizing that any talk of Medicaid reform must include a discussion on the purpose of Medicaid:  improving the health of low-income individuals.  The dialogue cannot simply focus on money and numbers without including the health outcomes, Frogue contended.   

Frogue gave several examples of successful state programs:

• North Carolina’s medical home Medicaid program, which includes specific initiatives on asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and emergency room utilization, has show improvements in preventive and disease management care for those involved.  It is estimated that this program provided cost savings of $60 million in SFY03 and $124 million in SFY04.
•  Oklahoma’s nursing home quality website (http://www.oknursinghomeratings.com) allows residents to rate nursing homes on 10 quality measurements, which are then made public.  Those nursing homes that participate are given higher reimbursement rates as incentive, and can earn more based on their score.
• Oklahoma also has an initiative to reduce emergency room “frequent fliers,” those who overuse ERs for non-emergency reasons under Medicaid.
• Florida has two website initiatives to increase cost and quality transparency.  One site, www.myfloridarx.com, is a searchable database updated monthly that shows the costs for prescription drugs by pharmacy.  A second site, www.floridahealthfinder.gov, allows residents to compare average cost and quality measures of their providers, including physicians, hospitals, and nursing homes.