Taylor said if Medicaid's sole purpose is to pay the health care claims of those who meet eligibility requirements, it should exist as a stand-alone agency.These are all good ideas and the Ohio GOP and the state legislature ought to hop on board and get this stuff done pronto. We could save $400 million with this idea alone...a few million here and there and soon we'll be talking about real money!
If it's part of a broader health care strategy, the state should create a "super health agency," she said.
If Medicaid is part of a social safety net, it should be aligned with a health and human services agency, much as it is now, the recommendations said.
The program is administered through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services but has its own director.
No legislation is pending to restructure Medicaid, officials said.
Among the other recommendations, which grew out of an audit of Medicaid services:
Establish a long-term perspective that sets goals and allows agencies to develop budgets in a way that results can be measured.
Centralize contract management among agencies under the supervision of the Medicaid director's office.
Move the nursing home reimbursement formula from state law to the administrative code, making it easier to revise the formula.
Create a high-risk pool program for uninsured Ohioans and test other programs for the uninsured.
Mary Taylor has been offering up all kinds of interesting ideas. If only more of Ohio's Republicans would do this sort of thing, we might actually get somewhere...
