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Indiana cancels $1.3 billion welfare contract

By KEN KUSMER (AP) – 14 hours ago

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is ending its troubled $1.34 billion deal with a team of vendors hired to automate the application process for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits.

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Thursday he was canceling the contract with Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. and Affiliated Computer Services Inc. of Dallas.

The companies have been criticized for losing documents, taking too long to process claims and a lack of face-to-face interaction between caseworkers and welfare recipients.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlubkmD3x72kqc11rvvZ4uP4k9CgD9BBNMPG0

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MASSACHUSETTS HAS been lauded for its healthcare reform, but the program is a failure. Created solely to achieve universal insurance coverage, the plan does not even begin to address the other essential components of a successful healthcare system.

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There is, though, one US model of healthcare that meets the Institute of Medicine criteria: Medicare. Insuring everyone over 65, Medicare achieves universal coverage and access to care, is not tied to a job, and is affordable for individuals and the country. Medicare simplifies the administration of healthcare dollars, thereby saving money. We need to improve Medicare, and expand this program to include everyone.

A bill before Congress, the United States National Health Insurance Act, would provide more comprehensive coverage for all. The bill includes doctor, hospital, long-term, mental health, dental, and vision care, prescription drugs, and medical supplies, with no premiums, copayments, or deductibles.

People would be free to choose doctors and hospitals, and insurance would not be tied to a job. Costs would be controlled because health planning in a national health program can reestablish needed balance between primary/preventive care and high-tech tertiary care. A modest, progressive tax would replace what people currently pay out of pocket. This program would pay for itself by eliminating the wasteful administrative costs and profits of private insurance companies, and save $8 billion to $10 billion in Massachusetts alone.

We must let Congress know we want improved access to affordable healthcare for all, not more expensive private health insurance we can't afford to use when we are sick. Massachusetts healthcare reform fails on all five Institute of Medicine criteria. Congress should not make it a model for the nation.

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