[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FLAWS OF MEDICAID EXPANSION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JASON CHAFFETZ

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 23, 2010

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, there are major flaws in the health care 
legislation that passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week. 
Utah Governor Gary Herbert recently shared with me two major 
deficiencies in the Medicaid expansion as addressed in the health care 
bill.
  First, Medicaid expansion ignores the fiscal impact on states. Utah, 
along with many other states, currently faces challenging financial 
circumstances. It would be impossible to pay for a sizeable Medicaid 
expansion and still maintain other critical state priorities such as 
education and social services without tax increases. This would dampen 
any economic recovery.
  Second, Medicaid expansion ignores the program's current 
deficiencies. Medicaid is designed to be a temporary help and not a 
permanent solution for financing medical care because it restricts 
patient responsibility and limits choices and options. Utah is 
struggling to find enough providers who are willing to treat Medicaid 
patients as it is. Putting more people on this program will likely 
overwhelm the provider system and decrease access for those that need 
it most.
  Medicaid expansion solves the problem of the uninsured by forcing 
more people into an already overburdened public program. This is an 
inevitable crush on states' finances and the economy.

                                                    State of Utah,


                                       Office of the Governor,

                               Salt Lake City, UT, March 21, 2010.
     Hon. Jason Chaffetz,
     Longworth Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Chaffetz: I am writing in the hope there 
     is still an opportunity to eliminate the proposed Medicaid 
     expansion in the current health care reform legislation. 
     There are two major flaws with the proposed expansion.
       First, the Medicaid expansion ignores the fiscal impact on 
     states. Even though there was a previous commitment that 
     states will not be burdened with the cost of a growing 
     program, it is clear the current versions of the expansion 
     proposal do not keep this commitment. Utah, along with many 
     other states, currently faces challenging financial 
     circumstances. We, in Utah, have fought to minimize the 
     impact on our citizens, but it would be impossible to pay for 
     a sizeable Medicaid expansion and still maintain our 
     commitment to other critical state priorities such as 
     education and social services without tax increases. This 
     would dampen the economic recovery we are beginning to 
     experience.
       Second, Medicaid expansion ignores the program's current 
     deficiencies. This proposal would significantly increase the 
     number of Utahns on Medicaid. Instead, we need to get more 
     people off Medicaid and covered by private insurance. 
     Medicaid is designed to be a temporary help to those in need. 
     It is not designed to be a permanent solution for financing 
     medical care because it restricts patient responsibility and 
     limits choices and options. It would be better to pursue 
     approaches that help individuals and families become the 
     primary decision-makers when it comes to their health and 
     health care.
       We are struggling to find enough providers who are willing 
     to treat Medicaid patients as it is. Putting more people in 
     this program will likely overwhelm the provider system and 
     decrease access for those that need it the most. Nothing in 
     the current proposal addresses how this problem will be 
     resolved.
       I am firmly opposed to a plan that intends to solve the 
     problem of the uninsured by forcing more people into an 
     already overburdened public program. Even though the bill 
     intends to soften the impact with a 2019 full implementation 
     date, this is simply delaying the inevitable crush on states' 
     finances and the economy.
       Thank you for your consideration and thank you for your 
     service to our country.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Gary R. Herbert,
     Governor.

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