In a stunning policy reversal, Gov. Peter Shumlin is dropping his plan to tighten Medicaid eligibility rules for pregnant women.
Less than 24 hours after delivering his budget address to the Legislature, Shumlin has scrapped a controversial plan that was designed to cut $5 million from the state's Medicaid budget.
The proposal made pregnancy a qualifying event so women could sign up for health care. The Shumlin Administration argued that these women could get coverage by getting a policy on the state's health care exchange.
But administration officials realized the plan could have unintended consequences for a small group of women. Shumlin says the plan was a mistake.
“I don't want to use this as a way to cost pregnant women more money,” Shumlin said. “I said to my team this morning, 'Listen there's plenty of ways to save money in the budget. Go back to the Legislature and give them alternatives of other ways to make savings.’”
But Shumlin is not backing away from a plan to tax independent doctors and dentists to raise $17 million for the Medicaid program. He says it's a fair tax because hospitals and physicians employed by hospitals currently pay this assessment and he says some of the money will be used to boost Medicaid reimbursement rates.
"I said to my team this morning, 'Listen there's plenty of ways to save money in the budget. Go back to the Legislature and give them alternatives of other ways to make savings.'" — Gov. Peter Shumlin, on 'Vermont Edition' Friday
But Senate Health Care chairwoman Claire Ayer is skeptical about this proposal.
“I'd hate to go through these kinds of machinations from a providers point of view if my reimbursement weren't going to be enough for me to notice at the end of the week,” Ayer said.
Ayer says her committee will take a close look at this plan in the coming weeks.
