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In reply to the discussion: Trumps Health Plan Would Convert Medicaid to Block Grants, Aide Says [View all]Tanuki
(14,918 posts)has an appalling record:
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/01/13198/seema-verma-trump-pick-medicaid-and-medicare
"Verma is founder and CEO of the Indiana health consulting business, SVC Inc. She worked as a consultant for several states but forged her reputation as a reformer with former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and current Governor and VP-elect Mike Pence, both conservative Republicans with ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC has long opposed any expansion of Medicaid and has sponsored model bills to privatize and chip away at the program.
In Indiana, Verma helped design the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP 2.0), which is described as a "consumer-driven insurance program for low-income Hoosiers." However, others such as the Kaiser Family Foundation have noted that it is one of the most complex and restrictive experimental programs ever given a waiver by the federal government which gives states some leeway to tinker with the program.
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Under Verma's program, Medicaid recipients can't get complete benefits unless they pay new monthly premiums. People that are poor enough to qualify for Medicaid in Indiana can actually be locked out of their coverage for six months if they fail to make a payment. The overly strict rules of the state also impose charges on patients that make what are deemed to be too many emergency room visits.
A July report from the Lewin Group, a health consultancy firm, found that 21,500 beneficiaries below the poverty level were dropped from Indiana's HIP Plus to HIP Basic because they didn't pay their contributions on time. One woman reported losing health care coverage after the state lost track of her $1 payment.
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In addition to Indiana, Verma has contracted with other Republican-led states, including Iowa, Ohio and Kentucky. She consulted with them on submitting Medicaid expansion proposals to the federal government. Her proposal for these states also layered on the punitive provisions such as requiring recipients to pay for more of their care, and making their coverage contingent on them actively working or looking for work, ideological aspects that might appeal to conservative Republicans have nothing to do with health care delivery and results.
According to a 2014 report by the Indianapolis Star Tribune, Verma and her firm have received at least $3.5 million from state contracts in Indiana alone.
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