Charlie Baker to sign reduced Medicaid reforms bill

Aug. 02--Gov. Charlie Baker will sign off today on the half-measure of Medicaid reforms the Legislature sent him after lawmakers balked at his controversial proposal to shore up the state budget by booting 140,000 people from the ballooning MassHealth program.

Baker said signing the bill is the best path forward in avoiding a back and forth of vetoes and overrides that could sap the effort of goodwill and mire much-needed Medicaid reform.

"It's more likely we will have a more robust and forthright discussion about what to do on MassHealth if we don't have the tennis match going on," Baker said.

Baker last month sent lawmakers a proposal to shore up MassHeath -- the state's Medicaid program -- by shifting 140,000 adults above the poverty line who use the program onto zero-premium private plans from the state's insurance marketplace. His proposal also raised $200 million by boosting employer health care fees -- eased by cuts to businesses' unemployment insurance payments.

Lawmakers last week recoiled at the MassHealth evictions, raising objections to the focus on cutting people from the program rather than attacking the underlying costs of delivering health care. The legislature sent Baker a bill with the added $200 million in business fee revenue, not the more than $100 million in savings from shifting the Medicaid enrollees to private plans.

Baker could have vetoed the bill -- though lawmakers appeared to have the votes to override. But Baker, convinced lawmakers are serious about tackling the issue, said he expects to sign the bill today.

"They are acutely aware of the fact that if they can't come up with a way to manage the program effectively and continue to cover people here in the commonwealth, it will crowd out opportunities to invest in education, transportation and other areas that are important," Baker said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said answers can be found to lawmakers' concerns about added costs of the private plans from co-pays to problems with optional benefits and access to dental coverage.

"We want to work together to address concerns they have," Sudders said. "We can find the path on these issues."

Administration officials said the $200 million raised by the fees is too little to stitch up next year's budget, adding that if nothing is done with MassHealth they'd still be staring at a $150 million problem.

___

(c)2017 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.