Health care experts at the state and federal level hosted a forum Monday in Madison to inform the public on the new changes coming to health care programs in the state.
As part of the HealthWatch Wisconsin Conference taking place Monday and Tuesday, the first member of the panel, Wisconsin Department of Health Serivces Secretary Dennis Smith, explained the tough but realistic changes made to the program over the last year.
The second speaker, Midwest Regional Director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Kenneth Munson, discussed some of the fundamental new changes that will be implemented throughout the country under the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010.
The key point of contention between the two speakers was the idea of creating a government-run health exchange system in Wisconsin, which would allow people looking for coverage under the new system to have a marketplace to meet and explore options for purchasing health insurance.
Smith said the exchange would be comparable to the farmers’ market that takes place at Capitol Square in Madison in warm months.
“One of the most popular things to do in Madison between April and October is to go to the [Dane County] Farmers’ Market,” Smith said. “At one point in time, we built roads and sidewalks to get to the market, but once you go to the market, no one told you what to buy. You decide for yourself.”
Munson added the majority of people interested in the exchange would be workers who do not have insurance through their workplace and are also ineligible for Medicaid.
Both Munson and Smith agreed such an exchange should exist, but disagreed over how it should be created and implemented.
When asked why Gov. Scott Walker turned down $37 million in federal money to help implement the exchange in Wisconsin, Smith said Walker was originally supportive of the idea but had other problems with creating the exchange.
“It was unfortunate that it became clear over time that there would not be a state exchange, only a federal exchange,” Smith said. “The micromanagement of the exchange in Washington, the process where every decision would have to be approved by CMS. Wisconsin could have done it if Washington would stop and listen.”
Munson said the issue of giving states more flexibility to create an exchange was more controversial than Smith implied. He said there were also many people calling for less flexibility at the state level.
“It’s important to know that we have an opportunity in each state to make the exchange what you want it to be,” Munson said. “If you have different provisions in your marketplace, you can do that if you set up your own exchange. But if the states choose not make their own exchange, the federal model will be implemented.”
Munson added if states do not implement their own exchange model before the full implementation of the law in 2014, states would still have the option to create their own system. However, funding made available in the past might not be available later on.
