Millions of Americans are enrolled in Medicaid programs under different names — and that confusion could make it easier for politicians to slash health care without a fight.
Yes please call your representatives and senators. 100 representatives & 16 senators have signed to support the reintroduction of a bill for Medicare for all. The bill is extremely comprehensive and will absolutely improve and expand HEALTHCARE for everyone.
Please cover NC 826, No Retaliation Against Mandatory Reporters. Currently in North Carolina it is legal for companies to fire mandated reporters for reporting abuse. Especially affects nursing homes which are horrendous.
Thank you for this information. We need to share it widely. I'm researching the effects of rural hospital closings, which are about to occur due to the Medicaid cuts. These closings will harm patients but likely benefit insurers, especially private Medicare Advantage.
His “executive” experience at Cigna was as VP of corporate communications in 2008.
He is basically a marketing guy with zero experience in healthcare finance, federal regulation, clinical operations, medicine and population management.
On top of that, he has been out of the business for the last 17 years and counting
Since then he has worked as a broker, which is basically akin to a realtor in health insurance.
That means he scrapes dollars off of the very thing he pretends to rail against while feeding you garbage.
So while he sites here and puts out his questionable drivel to support his boomer cronies, he is a literal nobody that has ZERO actual information or experience.
As a career healthcare exec I can tell you with certainty that a large percentage of people on Medicaid don't know it. I worked at Passport Health Plan in Kentucky. If you mentioned "Medicaid" to a member, they would say, "No, I have Passport." I heard this repeatedly. Passport has since been acquired by Molina Healthcare. I guarantee the members have NO idea that it is funded by Kentucky Medicaid. BTW, the CEO of Molina was the highest paid insurance executive in 2024. They are primarily a Medicaid payer.
I do often encounter clients who don't understand that Medicaid is an umbrella term and programs like CHIP and others are under the Medicaid umbrella. Some do think they have MHS or CareSource or Anthem though it's not super common that they don't know that they also have medicaid given how often, at least in my state, they need to recertify their eligibility through the state to retain their medicaid coverage.
However, "Medicaid" does have a branding problem. I often encounter clients who, despite being income qualified for medicaid, are afraid to enroll because of imagined problems with the medicaid program. Some common concerns are that they will be treated poorly by medical providers, that they will not have access to the doctors/providers they want, that they won't qualify (even if clearly should), that they're taking benefits away from "someone who truly needs it" and that they will get in trouble and get penalized because they own a [car, house, investment account, etc.]. Many have heard horror stories about how difficult it is to apply and that they won't be allowed to see out of network providers who are don't accept medicaid. These are the folks that are poisoned to the idea and exceptionally hard to convince to consider Medicaid.
Especially in the conservative state I live in, sometimes the fact that there are carriers they recognize does help them choose to apply and sometimes not. I have had several individuals and families opt to pay for coverage rather than attempt to obtain free to low cost coverage via Medicaid. It's a puzzling decision, but some folks can't be convinced otherwise (despite my attempts!).
One last thought is that if there's another positive to having carriers involved rather than the states administering claims, networks, prescription drug lists, etc. directly, it's that these carriers have a ton of resources and sway to lobby legislators to keep medicaid programs on the books. That's definitely a glass half full interpretation from a guy that ultimately believes single payer universal healthcare is the way to go.
You would think so. While I expect they have significantly greater organization and lobbying power than medicaid recipients themselves, I do think the power of the health insurance companies only goes so far.
Thank you.
Yes please call your representatives and senators. 100 representatives & 16 senators have signed to support the reintroduction of a bill for Medicare for all. The bill is extremely comprehensive and will absolutely improve and expand HEALTHCARE for everyone.
Please cover NC 826, No Retaliation Against Mandatory Reporters. Currently in North Carolina it is legal for companies to fire mandated reporters for reporting abuse. Especially affects nursing homes which are horrendous.
Thank you for this information. We need to share it widely. I'm researching the effects of rural hospital closings, which are about to occur due to the Medicaid cuts. These closings will harm patients but likely benefit insurers, especially private Medicare Advantage.
Let’s be clear about Wendell Potter.
His “executive” experience at Cigna was as VP of corporate communications in 2008.
He is basically a marketing guy with zero experience in healthcare finance, federal regulation, clinical operations, medicine and population management.
On top of that, he has been out of the business for the last 17 years and counting
Since then he has worked as a broker, which is basically akin to a realtor in health insurance.
That means he scrapes dollars off of the very thing he pretends to rail against while feeding you garbage.
So while he sites here and puts out his questionable drivel to support his boomer cronies, he is a literal nobody that has ZERO actual information or experience.
Do not be fooled by this guy.
As a career healthcare exec I can tell you with certainty that a large percentage of people on Medicaid don't know it. I worked at Passport Health Plan in Kentucky. If you mentioned "Medicaid" to a member, they would say, "No, I have Passport." I heard this repeatedly. Passport has since been acquired by Molina Healthcare. I guarantee the members have NO idea that it is funded by Kentucky Medicaid. BTW, the CEO of Molina was the highest paid insurance executive in 2024. They are primarily a Medicaid payer.
I do often encounter clients who don't understand that Medicaid is an umbrella term and programs like CHIP and others are under the Medicaid umbrella. Some do think they have MHS or CareSource or Anthem though it's not super common that they don't know that they also have medicaid given how often, at least in my state, they need to recertify their eligibility through the state to retain their medicaid coverage.
However, "Medicaid" does have a branding problem. I often encounter clients who, despite being income qualified for medicaid, are afraid to enroll because of imagined problems with the medicaid program. Some common concerns are that they will be treated poorly by medical providers, that they will not have access to the doctors/providers they want, that they won't qualify (even if clearly should), that they're taking benefits away from "someone who truly needs it" and that they will get in trouble and get penalized because they own a [car, house, investment account, etc.]. Many have heard horror stories about how difficult it is to apply and that they won't be allowed to see out of network providers who are don't accept medicaid. These are the folks that are poisoned to the idea and exceptionally hard to convince to consider Medicaid.
Especially in the conservative state I live in, sometimes the fact that there are carriers they recognize does help them choose to apply and sometimes not. I have had several individuals and families opt to pay for coverage rather than attempt to obtain free to low cost coverage via Medicaid. It's a puzzling decision, but some folks can't be convinced otherwise (despite my attempts!).
One last thought is that if there's another positive to having carriers involved rather than the states administering claims, networks, prescription drug lists, etc. directly, it's that these carriers have a ton of resources and sway to lobby legislators to keep medicaid programs on the books. That's definitely a glass half full interpretation from a guy that ultimately believes single payer universal healthcare is the way to go.
I was wondering that. Cut medicaid run by third party means cutting profits of third party, right? So wouldn’t they oppose the cuts?
You would think so. While I expect they have significantly greater organization and lobbying power than medicaid recipients themselves, I do think the power of the health insurance companies only goes so far.