Medicaid Equalization Laws and Family Restoration

Medicaid is composed of federal and state laws. Generally states are allowed to create laws that are meant to protect Medicaid eligible individuals who may seek admittance into a nursing facility. States have enacted different laws to achieve this goal, and these rules and objectives affect many families.

Some of the most restrictive and damaging are the equalization laws enacted by Minnesota and North Dakota. Medicaid discrimination has been a controversial issue and various measures have been taken to minimize it. Is taking the decision out of the hands of private healthcare providers and forcing them to level the playing field, as seen in Minnesota, a legitimate option or is it a step towards government run healthcare?

Angela Riddle has written an excellent and informative piece on the Medicaid. IT is titled, "When Atlas Shrugged: Minnesota’s Over Regulation of the Nursing Home Industry."

Here's a sample:

"Imagine a society were only government run businesses are able to survive because the laws have in essence restricted what private business are able to charge for services and goods. The private industries tried to work within the system for a time and eventually tried to work outside of the system, only to have their efforts eventually fail when they were unable to return a sustainable profit margin. That is happening and will happen with the Medicaid Equalization laws, especially with the current changes that will happen with new federal health care reforms."

by Angela Riddle, Copyright 2010.

See the power point presentation below and and read the entire article here.