Marian Wright Edelman, State Representatives To Participate In Genesis Medicaid Forum
DAVENPORT, Iowa – Genesis Health System will hold a public forum on Friday, March 2 to provide information about the need for improved Medicaid funding to serve the most vulnerable citizens of Iowa.
Iowa’s spending on Medicaid is among the lowest of all states at just more than 13 percent of the state’s annual budget.
The forum will be held from 2-4 p.m. in the Adler Education Center in the lower level of the Genesis Heart Institute, 1236 E. Rusholme St., Davenport. The public is invited to participate.
Among the leaders invited to participate are Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President of the Children’s Defense Fund; Kirk Norris, President and CEO of the Iowa Hospital Association; Leo Bressanelli, President and CEO of Genesis Health System; and, state representatives Linda Miller, Bettendorf, Jamie Van Fossen, Davenport and Elesha Gayman, Davenport.
Marian Wright Edelman will particpate via telephone. The Children’s Defense Fund, founded in 1973, is a private, non-profit organzation providing a voice for all of the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves.
Medicaid coverage, which is funded by state funds and matching federal funds, is the healthcare safety net for the most vulnerable Iowans, including the blind and disabled, the lowest income families, the diasabled elderly and young mothers with children.
The Iowa Hospital Association is asking the Iowa General Assembly to add $20 million in additional funding to put Iowa’s Medicaid payments at Medicare reimbursement levels. The $20 million would then be matched by an additional $34 million of federal funds.
“Preserving access to health care for the poorest Iowans is a core function of state government. We ask the Iowa General Assembly to stand behind its own health insurance program and support initiatives that will increase Medicaid funding levels,’’ said Bressanelli, Chairman of the Board of the Iowa Hospital Association. “We urge state officials to increase funding for existing health care programs that protect Iowans rather than create new programs.’’
The Iowa Hospital Association favors a $1-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes sold in Iowa. Iowa’s present cigarette tax of 36 cents per pack ranks the state 42nd, placing Iowa at the same level as tobacco-producing states.
“Just 10 cents of a cigarette tax increase that was dedicated to Medicaid payments to hospitals would raise those payments to rates near Medicare levels,’’ Bressanelli said.
In 2006, Iowa hospitals lost more than $118 million (at cost) in providing services to Medicaid patients, according to the Iowa Hospital Association. When Medicaid payments to hospitals do not offset costs of providing the care, other parties pay to subsidize Medicaid shortfalls. Businesses and other individuals who purchase insurance often face premium increases or higher out-of-pocket costs for their insurance policies to pay for Medicaid shortfalls.
The public is invited to the forum to learn more about the need for a fully funded Medicaid program and how a cigarette tax increase would help fund the program.
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