Cutting Health Cost Growth By Shared State-Federal Savings

In a Health Affairs Web First commentary released today, Alan Weil discusses the concept of “cooperative federalism” in light of the Affordable Care Act. He proposes an optional shared savings program between the states and the federal government as a response to concerns that there may be increased federal control over implementation of the health reform laws at the state level because state decisions will determine the level of federal spending. For example, state decisions regarding Medicaid benefits, payment levels, and the use of managed care, and state exchange policies on rate review, qualifying health plans, and essential health benefits would all directly affect federal health costs. Weil, the executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, points to the "dramatic expansion" under the ACA "of programs administered by states but financed entirely by the federal government." In his proposed new program, the federal government would share with the states any federal savings relative to expected expenditures on state-administered health programs; the program would not operate through waivers, and the details of the program would develop through open rule making.
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Tags: All Categories Children Health Care Costs Health Reform Medicaid Policy Politics Quality States Source Type: blogs