PUBLICATIONS BY Dennis G. Smith
Commentary
Research
2009 Commentary
March 30, 2009
Learning from Vermont on health care
By Dennis Smith
Several years ago Mitt Romney, a Republican governor, joined with a very liberal Massachusetts legislature to transform that state's health care system. They took advantage of a Bush administration-approved waiver and fundamentally changed the state Medicaid program.
2008 Commentary
September 29, 2008
Don't Provide Medicaid Relief Without Demanding Reform
By Dennis Smith
Talk about a helpful prognosis: Cash-strapped states may well get some help from the federal government in meeting their Medicaid budgets.
Washington shares the cost of the $350 billion program with states and local governments — funding, on average, about 57 percent of Medicaid. Congress is considering a temporary boost to its share. But is this the right prescription? A closer look suggests that lawmakers should seek a second opinion.
2009 Research
November 04, 2009
Federalization of Medicaid: Health Reform Bill Would Reduce State Authority
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2678)
But under H.R. 3962, the ability of states to run Medicaid and SCHIP to reflect state variations and preferences would be substantially diminished.
October 30, 2009
Medicaid Funding of Abortion: Setting the Record Straight
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2672)
Unless a specific prohibition on abortion funding is included in the final health care bill, the government will end up funding the procedure.
October 21, 2009
Health Care Bills' Medicaid Expansion: How States Can Lose the Battle Behind Closed Doors
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2661)
The President wants federal taxpayers to pick up a greater share of the cost of the Medicaid expansion.
October 21, 2009
Why Congress Wants to Force More Americans into Medicaid
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2662)
Congress's response to Medicaid's problems is not to fix them but rather to add another 14 million people to the program.
October 15, 2009
The Baucus Medicaid Provisions: The Senate's Massive Welfare Expansion
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2652)
Expanding Medicaid is not reform. Adding more people to a flawed system would only compound the problem.
October 07, 2009
Congress Breaks Obama Promise on Government Role in Health Care
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2644)
A government "takeover" in the form of greater government control over health care financing and the practice of medicine is inevitable.
September 25, 2009
The Baucus Health Bill: A Medicare Physician Payment Shell Game
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2629)
For all of the bold talk of reform, the Baucus health bill is just another flawed, big-government solution.
August 07, 2009
Health Care Reform in West Virginia: A Lesson from the States
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2582)
West Virginia has experimented with Medicaid reform and has learned a lot about what those reforms accomplished.
July 24, 2009
New Taxpayer Subsidies: The Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2564)
Under the House and Senate bills, taxpayers are going to pay more for health insurance.
July 23, 2009
Undercutting State Authority: The Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2559)
The states are being invited into a shaky bargain that trades dollars for control over the administration of Medicaid.
July 21, 2009
Medicaid Expansion: The Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2554)
Further expansion of Medicaid would create new inequities among individuals, even within families.
June 18, 2009
Health Care Co-Operatives: Doing It the Right Way
By Edmund F. Haislmaier, Dennis G. Smith, and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #2493)
Some key Senators are considering cooperatives as an alternative to a public health plan. Here are several principles that must be a part of any co-op model.
May 15, 2009
The Obama Health Agenda: Impact on the States
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2445)
The President's proposal for a Medicaid expansion and a public program expansion would be a step backward.
April 24, 2009
The Real Price of a Public Health Plan: Less Innovation and Lower Quality
By Dennis G. Smith
(Backgrounder #2263)
Most Americans value their current private health insurance, desire choices in health coverage, and are wary of government plans. Key supporters of a new government plan do not intend to compete with the private sector on a level playing field, but to overwhelm it through a series of benefit designs, mandates, and special federal subsidies provided by higher taxes.
March 25, 2009
The Role of Long-Term Care in Health Reform
By Dennis G. Smith
(Testimony #9999)
Long-term care is an important but all too often overlooked component of health care reform. The great challenges we face because of population changes between now and 2030 are well known and will require bold solutions.
February 27, 2009
The Obama Health Care Budget: Hopeful Savings and Costly Change
By Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Nina Owcharenko, and Dennis Smith
(WebMemo #2314)
President Obama's health care budget proposal is large but surprisingly unimaginative.
February 12, 2009
Note to Congress: Expanding Health Care Entitlements Is Bad Policy
By Dennis G. Smith
(Backgrounder #2240)
Entitlement reform, lowering the cost of both public and private health insurance, and expanding private insurance coverage should be accomplished simultaneously, allowing for a smooth interaction among the various parts. Expanding government entitlement programs will thwart the ability to harness market forces to control costs while depriving more and more Americans of the opportunity to secure the private coverage of their choice.
January 26, 2009
SCHIP Bill: Top 10 Changes for Congress to Consider
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2244)
In Congress's mad dash to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), it fails to correct the serious flaws buried in last year's SCHIP bill.
January 22, 2009
How the House Stimulus Bill Undercuts Parental Authority
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2237)
Buried in the economic stimulus legislation is a provision further undercutting parental authority and expanding control of taxpayer dollars by family planning clinics.
January 21, 2009
Bailing Out Medicaid: A Bad Solution
By Dennis G. Smith and Nina Owcharenko
(WebMemo #2235)
Congress should not throw good money after bad. But if Congress insists on writing bigger Medicaid checks for state officials—again—then it should take very specific steps to require accountability on the part of state officials for any additional funds they get from the federal taxpayer.
2008 Research
November 21, 2008
The Next SCHIP Debate: The Case for Honest Numbers
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2140)
Reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will take on new and heightened importance early next year. Congress cannot deliver last year's legislation with the same results. SCHIP will either cost more or serve fewer children.
November 13, 2008
Consumer Direction in Medicaid and Opportunities for States
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2129)
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a final Medicaid rule that permits Medicaid recipients to self-direct their own health care and supportive services. The rule is a great victory for persons with disabilities.
September 26, 2008
State Medicaid Reform First - Before Payment Increases
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2083)
Congress needs to get serious about Medicaid. To borrow a medical analogy: If a state is the patient, and Congress is its doctor, giving states a temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to treat the problems associated with Medicaid is malpractice. Medicaid needs surgery, and increasing the FMAP is like giving it two aspirins instead. The temporary relief is not a cure and will actually make things worse for the program and states when it wears off.
September 22, 2008
State Health Reform: How States Can Control Costs and Expand Coverage
By Dennis G. Smith
(Backgrounder #2183)
The rising cost of health care for states and their citizens is often assumed to be a problem solely in search of a federal solution. State officials should ignore those who insist that the only solution is to obtain more money from the federal government and instead focus new efforts on returning competition to their states’ health insurance markets.
September 16, 2008
State Health Reform: Converting Medicaid Dollars into Premium Assistance
By Dennis G. Smith
(Backgrounder #2169)
State policymakers can improve Medicaid by using the flexibilities provided by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) to redesign coverage of low-income working families into
a system of premium assistance—a government contribution to health insurance—that would reconnect much of the Medicaid population with the private health insurance markets that serve the majority of Americans.
September 16, 2008
Executive Summary: State Health Reform: Converting Medicaid Dollars into Premium Assistance
By Dennis G. Smith
(Executive Summary #2169)
Executive Summary: State policymakers can improve Medicaid by using the flexibilities provided by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) to redesign coverage of low-income working families into
a system of premium assistance—a government contribution to health insurance—that would reconnect much of the Medicaid population with the private health insurance markets that serve the majority of Americans.
September 09, 2008
SCHIP: How Congress Can Avoid Repeating Last Year's Mistakes
By Dennis G. Smith
(Backgrounder #2180)
Congress can return SCHIP to its original focus on uninsured low-income children by setting a firm cap on eligibility that applies to both SCHIP and Medicaid and by restoring fiscal discipline. Blindly expanding SCHIP up the income scale would eclipse the potential of more desirable alternatives, especially refundable health care tax credits, which have already attracted a bipartisan and philosophical consensus.
September 09, 2008
Executive Summary: SCHIP: How Congress Can Avoid Repeating Last Year's Mistakes
By Dennis G. Smith
(Executive Summary #2180)
Executive Summary: Congress can return SCHIP to its original focus on uninsured low-income children by setting a firm cap on eligibility that applies to both SCHIP and Medicaid and by restoring fiscal discipline. Blindly expanding SCHIP up the income scale would eclipse the potential of more desirable alternatives, especially refundable health care tax credits, which have already attracted a bipartisan and philosophical consensus.
July 16, 2008
SCHIP Reauthorization: Preparing for Another Round in Congress
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #1994)
In the coming weeks, Congress may once again debate the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). By doing so, Congressional leaders would have an opportunity to take a fresh approach to this issue, and avoid the serious flaws in last year’s legislation.
November 20, 2009
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