HARRISBURG – An initiative to improve Medicaid while finding cost-savings will take center stage at an upcoming Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing next week, according Chairman David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks).
The hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 21 at 10 a.m. in Room 8E-A of the East Wing in the state Capitol.
The hearing will include an examination of the Alaska Medicaid Coordinated Care Initiative, a program that helps match Medicaid patients to the care they need in order to limit the number of costly and unnecessary emergency care visits and hospital admissions. The program is run by MedExpert, a 30 year company focusing on technological advancements to benefit patients, providers and taxpayers.
Senator Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) is introducing legislation that would take a similar approach to the rising cost of Medicaid and requested the hearing to learn more about Alaska’s experiences with this initiative.
Martin emphasized the importance of exploring ways to improve patient care and reduce the per capita cost of health care.
“It is critical to ensure Medicaid patients receive the care they need, while at the same time controlling costs to taxpayers,” Martin said. “Medicaid costs are one of the biggest culprits behind state budget deficits in recent years, so I am hopeful that this hearing will help lay the groundwork for substantial improvements to our current health care system for both patients and taxpayers.”
“Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called states the ‘laboratories of democracy,’” Argall said. “I applaud Senator Martin for spearheading this initiative and think this hearing will give members a chance to learn more about a program that has worked well in another state and could work well in Pennsylvania.”
More information can be found on the Senate Majority Policy Committee’s website.