PERRY: We need real reform, not more Medicaid
Harnessing state innovation is the way forward
By Gov. Rick Perry
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Expecting to extend quality health care access to millions of Americans by pressing them into the existing Medicaid system is a little like expecting to win the Indy 500 in a 1965 Chevy Corvair. It's just not the right tool for the job.
A fundamental flaw in the Obama administration's government health care plan is that Medicaid is already on the brink of failure. Dumping millions more people into the Medicaid mix will not save it, will not cut any costs and will not improve overall access to quality care.
In Texas, we have no interest in following the federal directive to expand our Medicaid ranks by more than 1 million, and we also are rejecting calls to establish a so-called "state" insurance exchange designed and ruled by federal guidelines, many of which have yet to be written. Neither of these is the proper role of the federal government and both represent brazen intrusions into the affairs of states.