Spotlight shines on rising cost of care
WASHINGTON -- As Republican leaders in Congress move to trim billions of dollars from the Medicaid health program, they are simultaneously intervening to save the life of possibly the highest-profile Medicaid patient: Terri Schiavo.
The Schiavo case may put a human face on the problem of rising medical costs, both at the state and federal level.
In Florida, where Governor Jeb Bush, a Republican, is pushing a dramatic restructuring of the Medicaid program, the cost of Schiavo's care has become political fodder. In Washington, where a fight over Medicaid spending threatens to scuttle the 2006 budget plan, the role of the program in preserving Schiavo's life is beginning to receive attention.
''At every opportunity, [House majority leader] Tom DeLay has sanctimoniously proclaimed his concern for the well-being of Terri Schiavo, saying he is only trying to ensure she has the chance 'we all deserve,' " the liberal Center for American Progress said Monday, echoing protest from Democratic legislators and medical ethicists.
''Just last week, DeLay marshaled a budget resolution through the House of Representatives that would cut funding for Medicaid by at least $15 billion, threatening the quality of care for people like Terri Schiavo," the center said.
DeLay spokesman Dan Allen fired back, ''The fact that they're tying a life issue to the budget process shows just how disconnected Democrats are to reality."
Lawyers for Schiavo's husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo, have said that Medicaid finances her drug costs, but it is not entirely clear how dependent Schiavo's caregivers are on the joint federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled.
Medicaid's share of Schiavo's care ''is a big chunk," said Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat. ''Governor Bush and President Bush are both professing deep concern for the rights of one disabled person, yet their rhetoric doesn't match their actions," she said.
Florida's Medicaid program is expected to cost about $14 billion this year, with the state covering 41 percent, said Jonathan Burns, spokesman for the state Agency for Health Care Administration. For every dollar Florida spends on Medicaid, it receives about $1.44 from the federal government in matching funds.
The governor has proposed limiting Medicaid spending and in essence giving each beneficiary a voucher to shop for a health plan. Advocates for the poor and disabled contend that the approach would leave the most vulnerable without adequate coverage.
If it passes, ''I guess Mrs. Schiavo or someone on her staff would have to find a network that will take care of her for the amount of money" the state provides, said Andrew Schneider, a Washington-based healthcare consultant.
In Washington, House Republicans last week approved a budget resolution for 2006 that would order $15 billion to $20 billion in Medicaid savings over the next five years. But when Senate leaders tried to follow suit with a budget that trimmed $14 billion from Medicaid, 52 senators balked.
