Since many people had similar questions, we will answer them here. The major question at hand is if a family is not covered by Medicaid and still under insured, will they be eligibly for assistance under this bill? Under the current terms of the bill, the answer is “No”. If a family is not covered by Medicaid then they do not qualify. While we feel that this is unfortunate we still support the bill because it is a step in the right direction. While some people who still need help will not be assisted by this bill, many people who are in desperate need of help will.
The other questions that we received have been focused on how these people will be covered. First, the money for this effort will come from title XIX of the Social Security Act(http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title19/1900.htm) which says the state will cover at least 40 percent of the cost, and the rest will be covered by Federal and non-Federal funding. Second, the bill does not assign who manages the care of the patients; the bill says that the organization of care will be determined by the state. This also answers the other question of, “where does care begin?” Again this will be determined by the state and the health care organizations that the individual state works with. Finally the questions regarding how these patients will cope if the bill is not passed. There is no doubt that there will be increased problems, but these patients will be eligible for some help from Medicaid, private insurance, and several charities that provide assistance to these families.
I love the help that this bill offers to medically fragile children, especially those with chronic illnesses. However, I have a problem with 40% of this money coming from the state. How is Virginia (and other states facing large deficits) going to come up with money to fund this bill when we cannot even pay the bills from last fiscal year? Where would you suggest that the budget in Virginia be changed to allow an influx of revenue to provide for your bill?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jill, with the present state budget problems (not to mention the extreme federal budget deficits) and lack of funding, if this bill was passed, would it not place an increased burden on the state budget? If the state is required to provide 40% of the costs for the implementation of this bill, where is that money going to come from? We already do not have enough revenue to provide the services already established, much less a new service that will require much more funding. It is a great idea, which in the long run would give a much needed financial break for families of medically fragile children, I just don't see how we can afford to implement this new policy at this point. It is important to consider the best timing for passing new policy, and perhaps the reason this one does not have a a large following at this time is due to the lack of money available to fund it.
ReplyDeleteThis bill sounds like a great plan, but as with most bills that are funded in this way, we must consider exactly where this money is coming from. Our current economy is not very stable and the proposed bill calls for a great amount of its funding straight from the state's budget.
ReplyDeleteDoes the bill have a detailed budget set and explain exactly where the money is coming from? It might be tough to ask for more money from an already financially strained state and it's residents. Do you have an suggestions as to a more feasible way to raise funding for this bill?