By Consuelo Echeverria
In Nov, the FTAC addressed the UHCC request to focus on Coverage/Enrollment with an in-depth explanation of how Medicaid works in WA and potential opportunities for Medicaid under a universal health care system. While Medicaid in WA certainly is trying to be inclusive and equitable there are some issues with trying to expand this approach into a universal system.
- Overutilization is pitched as the driver of high health care costs while the high administrative costs built into the medical industrial complex was left open.
- An attempt to consolidate and better manage MCOs to control costs will not fix the basic issue of capitation with high rates of denials to maximize profits.
- While rate normalization is seen as a complex problem in the current system, a simple single-payer model is the most cost-effective solution.
As one commentator mentioned, “WA has done a good job of making the existing system work. But it’s expensive and takes a lot of work, which is why we need to take a different tack.”
The current system is a prime example of why the FTAC’s time would be better spent analyzing the unified single payer system presented in the Washington Health Trust, which is modeled on HCFA-WA’s Washington Health Security Trust.
Join us as we track the next meeting of the UHCC on Thursday, December 14, 2023, 2-4 p.m.
We encourage you to:
- Sign up to provide public comment by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting occurs.
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Catch up on past UHCC and FTAC meetings
- Listen to the recording or read the slıdes at FTAC past meetings.
To get our take, you can read past meeting recaps.