Thursday, October 23, 2008

Hawaii ending universal child health care

The state of Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched because of budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. Families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan. In other words people who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free. Now that the program is being dropped, it is estimated that 3,500 to 16,000 children in the State of Hawaii will now be left with NO healthcare coverage at all.

Sounds kind of like the plan that Obama and Hillary are proposing doesn't it?! Hmmm!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081017/ap_on_re_us/child_health_hawaii/print

Hawaii ending universal child health care
By MARK NIESSE, Associated Press Writer Mark Niesse, Associated Press Writer – Fri Oct 17, 3:29 am ET

HONOLULU – Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched.

Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.

"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."

State officials said Thursday they will stop giving health coverage to the 2,000 children enrolled by Nov. 1, but private partner Hawaii Medical Service Association will pay to extend their coverage through the end of the year without government support.

"We're very disappointed in the state's decision, and it came as a complete surprise to us," said Jennifer Diesman, a spokeswoman for HMSA, the state's largest health care provider. "We believe the program is working, and given Hawaii's economic uncertainty, we don't think now is the time to cut all funding for this kind of program."

Hawaii lawmakers approved the health plan in 2007 as a way to ensure every child can get basic medical help. The Keiki (child) Care program aimed to cover every child from birth to 18 years old who didn't already have health insurance — mostly immigrants and members of lower-income families.

It costs the state about $50,000 per month, or $25.50 per child — an amount that was more than matched by HMSA.

State health officials argued that most of the children enrolled in the universal child care program previously had private health insurance, indicating that it was helping those who didn't need it.

The Republican governor signed Keiki Care into law in 2007, but it and many other government services are facing cuts as the state deals with a projected $900 million general fund shortfall by 2011.

While it's difficult to determine how many children lack health coverage in the islands, estimates range from 3,500 to 16,000 in a state of about 1.3 million people. All were eligible for the program.

"Children are a lot more vulnerable in terms of needing care," said Democratic Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland. "It's not very good to try to be a leader and then renege on that commitment."
The universal health care system was free except for copays of $7 per office visit.
Families with children currently enrolled in the universal system are being encouraged to seek more comprehensive Medicaid coverage, which may be available to children in a family of four earning up to $73,000 annually.

These children also could sign up for the HMSA Children's Plan, which costs about $55 a month.
"Most of them won't be eligible for Medicaid, and that's why they were enrolled in Keiki Care,"

Diesman said. "It's the gap group that we're trying to ensure has coverage."
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On the Net:
Hawaii Medical Service Association: http://www.hmsa.com/

2 comments:

B2 said...

Check out how well National Healthcare fared in other countries:

According to Canada Free Press, There is a doctor shortage in Canada because “many of our best doctors moved to the United States, where government was not going to limit the amount of money they could earn.” Simple medical procedures such as an MRI now take up to 6 months to receive in Canada. The wealthy all fly to the United States and pay for their procedures on their own, the rest of the people who can’t afford it have to suffer through. The patient to doctor ratio in Canada now stands at 2 – 4,000 patients per doctor and because the program is underfunded, several tests and procedures are no longer covered by the program such as cancer screenings, dermatology or eye exams. Canada now

http://www.canadafreepress.com/op_ed.htm

The medical treatment in Canada has gotten so bad that an estimated 9,250 to 23,750 deaths in Canada a year are linked to medical errors because of "years of chronic underfunding or understaffing."

http://www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2004/05/25/fNovaScotia192.raw.html .

B2 said...

It is currently estimated that 45 million people do not have health insurance at this time. According to www.freemarketcure.com • 17 million (38%) live in households with an annual income of $50,000 or more. 9 million (20%) live in households with an annual income of $75,000 or more. These people choose not to spend their money on insurance even though they can afford it. 14 million (31%) are eligible for government healthcare programs such as Medicaid but choose not to enroll. 14 million (31%) are illegal immigrants but still receive free charity care. 18 million (40%) are ages 18-34 and spend more than 400% more on alcohol, tobacco, entertainment and dining than on out of pocket expenses for healthcare. This leaves 8 million (18%) of the 45 million that are truly uninsured. Keep in mind that over $1,000 are spent annually on charity care for every man, woman and child that is
uninsured in America (that’s over $45 billion annually). America also has an extensive system of low or no cost community healthcare centers and free healthcare clinics that provide even the basic services such as annual exams for free or sliding scale costs. The U.S. even allows “compassionate entry” permission to Mexican citizens in border towns that need medical assistance, in which they are picked up by ambulance at the border and transported to emergency rooms in American hospitals to receive free healthcare. Also, Federal Law requires that all hospitals must provide emergency care to anyone that comes within 250 yards of an emergency room regardless of ability or willingness to pay. All are treated if needed, but few ever pay. It is worth noting that every nation has a group of people that refuse to participate in society or take
responsibility for their own wellbeing. They wouldn’t comply even if our government attempted to force them to receive regular healthcare. Regardless, it is still in-excusable to leave 8 million or almost 3% of our population without health insurance, even if Federal Law requires they be provided with emergency care if needed.