U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy has written an opinion column for the online magazine Politico, arguing that it is time for President Barack Obama and Congress to take up Medicaid. Cassidy, a liver specialist who teaches at Earl K. Long Medical Center, says Medicaid is bankrupting federal and state governments, along with doctors and hospitals. And the program is letting down the needy families it is supposed to help. “A recent study of surgical outcomes found that patients are roughly as well off having Medicaid as they are having no health insurance, and ‘Medicaid payer status was associated with the longest length of stay and highest total costs’ of any payer source,” Cassidy says. A model for Medicaid overhaul could be the sweeping welfare reform bill passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in 1996. Read the full story here.
Cassidy: Time to fix a broken Medicaid system
Sign up for the free Daily Report email – local news about the people, companies and issues that impact business impact business in Baton Rouge and beyond.
