Clinton "Plans Incremental US Health Reforms Now"

Bold incrementalism is the way President Clinton is likely to approach US health care reform now. The New York Times says he and his staff are working on incremental programs to help provide health cover for the growing number of uninsured children, and help pay up to six months' premiums for workers between jobs. It is felt these plans now seem more feasible with medical costs coming under control, and that the Administration will propose legislation to control Medicare costs by curbing payments to doctors and hospitals.

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala has said the Administration will try to expand coverage incrementally but has yet to decide how ambitious its plans will be, so it does not know how much they will cost nor decided how to pay for them. The two approaches being considered are ensuring that all eligible children enroll in Medicaid, or buying private insurance for children who do not qualify. Chris Jennings, a White House health care policy coordinator, said these proposals would be made in the context of a balanced budget. This "worker transition initiative" could help three million people annually, including 700,000 children.

Federal Medicaid Spend Lower While Medicaid costs grew about 17% annually during 1990-95 and the Congressional Budget Office had predicted 1996-2002 growth at 10% a year, newly-released figures showed that federal Medicaid spending grew just 3%, with the NYT attributing the lower numbers perhaps to the greater use of managed care.