Ind. smokers, obese may face additional Medicaid charges

In an effort to reduce a $1.5 million deficit in Arizona’s Medicaid program and promote healthiness among patients, Gov. Jan Brewer proposed an annual $50 fee for certain recipients.

“State spending on Medicaid has increased 65 percent in the past four years,” Brewer said. “We simply can’t afford it.”

The fee would be applied to those who smoke, have diabetes or are considered obese, according to a press release. Of that group, only childless adults currently on Medicaid who do not abide by a doctor’s guidelines to improve overall health would be fined.

The proposed fee would not affect eligibility for Medicaid, the press release detailed.
In Indiana such a proposal to cut the costs of Medicaid is not being considered, said Marcus Barlow, communications and media director for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

He said alternative ways to reduce expenses have been taken into consideration.

“In this legislative session we’re looking to cut some optional services, so we’re constantly looking for ways to save money,” Barlow said.

With a 40 percent increase in Medicaid recipients in the past five years, controlling costs is a constant need, Barlow said.

However, doing something similar to the proposal in Arizona to reduce these costs might not reap the same benefits or bring about the same consequences, he said.

“I would say that our population is a little different than Arizona’s, so it would probably have a different effect depending on the state,” Barlow said. “That’s not even something we’ve considered yet.”

Christopher Holly, elder law attorney with Medicaid Solutions in Bloomington, said he worries such a fee would hurt Hoosier Medicaid recipients.

Holly said recipients of Medicaid typically must fit into a particular category to be eligible for the benefits. He also said the majority of applicants for Medicaid are 65 or older, blind or disabled.

Currently, there are no restrictions on acceptance into Indiana’s Medicaid program based on whether a person smokes, is obese or is considered diabetic. 

While proponents of the Arizona proposal view the fee as a means of saving money and promoting the seriousness of healthier lifestyles, Holly said the initial eligibility process is already complicated enough financially.

He said imposing a fee based on further medical issues is not something patients should have to worry about when all other factors are considered.

“I think that would be extremely costly to the people that can least afford it, would be penalizing people for particular health conditions, and singling them out based on a misguided sense of morality,” Holly said. “It would be a traumatic mistake if they tried to do something so silly in Indiana.”