Leavitt vows to trim Medicaid spending

Ever the optimist, newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said he's confident the massive problems of runaway Medicaid spending can be significantly curtailed without jeopardizing health care services for most of the recipients.

Utah's former three-term governor in a Thursday teleconference outlined an ambitious cost-saving proposal he projects will trim $60 billion from the Medicaid budget over the next decade.

"Our purpose here is to find ways to spend money most efficiently and direct it to our highest priorities," Leavitt said.

His comments on the nation's health insurance program serving 46 million low-income adults and children, the elderly and disabled came on the same day Utah lawmakers heard pleas to restore millions in "optional" benefits cut from the insurance plan three years ago.

Former recipients of adult dental and vision Medicaid benefits and advocates have pushed hard for restoration of the services, testifying Thursday before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Budget Committee about the critical needs.

Leavitt said that cut in services— made under his reign — might not have been necessary if states' Medicaid programs weren't strangled by inflexible rules.

"There may have been a better way to (respond to budget constraints) if we'd had the flexibility," Leavitt said.

While advocates worry that looming Medicaid restructuring will mean fewer federal dollars flowing to Utah, Leavitt said public policy makers here should not halt any contemplated changes to the state's Medicaid budget. "My guess is that they will have plenty of wisdom as they deal with this," he said.

While restating the government's commitment to continue to provide comprehensive Medicaid coverage to mandatory populations — such as the low-income and people with disabilities — Leavitt said greater flexibility is needed in programs that serve "optional" categories of recipients.

"These are large populations of people who simply need help buying health insurance. There is an opportunity to work within those optional groups and find ways to help them acquire coverage and have that coverage be quality coverage." To achieve the savings, Leavitt wants to: