My response to the governor's accusation that Medicaid cuts mean "that people will die."
I rise to respond to a statement the Governor made yesterday to a gathering of physicians at the capitol. The Governor is quoted as saying that Medicaid cuts mean "that people will die."
Now I have taken care of Medicaid patients for the last 22 years. This weekend I am foregoing a boy scout camping trip with my son, so I can work two 24 hour shifts at one of my local hospitals. As always I will be treating all comers, approximately 30% of whom will be Medicaid recipients. I've done this for 22 years - and I've never seen the Governor there. When I'm called at 3:30 in the morning, it will be me and a couple of nurses, a surgeon, a patient. No Governor will be there. No one from the department of community health will be there.
And what will be killing this Medicaid patient? The same things that plague all Michiganders- heart disease, cancer, stroke, the consequences of diabetes, etc. My patient will not be succumbing from a lack of treatment. They will not be dying from a lack of Medicaid reimbursement, but rather they will be dying from a lifestyle disease.
If cutting Medicaid reimbursement results in death, why wasn't that so in 2005? In March, 2005 the Governor used an executive order cut to balance that budget? Many of you voted for it. It cut Medicaid 4%. Did people die? Why is it when Republicans propose balancing the budget through 3% cuts - we are accused of killing people, but when the Governor did it - her larger cuts were portrayed as necessary to preserve vital services - to save lives?
What's really killing Medicaid recipients and all Michiganders, is an epidemic of unhealthy lifestyles which are fostered, that is aided and abetted by current Medicaid and other benefit policies, and that without structural change, no amount of dollars will ever be sufficient to remedy.
If the Governor was concerned for the lives of Michiganders, and not so fixated on paying for medical services and appeasing special interest groups - she would embrace Medicaid reforms which we have proposed to incentivise recipients to adopt healthier lifestyles - instead of opposing them.
If her concern was for the health of school employees - then she would support reforms which call for the releasing of blinded claims data by MESSA which would allow benefits to be designed to meet the health needs of school employees - instead of opposing them.
If her concern was for the health of state employees she would negotiate benefit packages which an aim to foster healthier lifestyles not abet them by saying you go ahead and smoke all you want, be inactive, ignore your blood pressure - then call us when you need us and the taxpayers will cover your reparative work.
So this weekend - when I'm caring for Medicaid patients they will have private rooms, valet parking, cable TV, and good care - but they will not be made healthier because Medicaid does not incentivize them to show up for their appointments, take their blood pressure medication, become more active, or smoke less.
What's really killing Michiganders are our lifestyle choices and the administration's own reluctance to embrace important reforms that will make public school employees, state employees and Medicaid recipients healthier.