In a surprising move, a Republican lawmaker is leading the effort to revive the decision to expand Medicaid in South Carolina.
While 40 states across the nation have embraced Medicaid expansion, South Carolina has remained restrained by it.
However, the recent statement by Republican legislator Sen. Tom Davis, R—Beaufort, marks the changes to the healthcare market.
He said, “If we don’t do something, we’re lurching toward a single-payer system.”
“We’re lurching toward a system where people throw their hands up in the air and say, ‘This is too darn complicated. We’re going to turn everything over to the government and have them, on a top-down basis, manage everything.’ That would be a disaster.”
Davis plans to create a new committee to investigate healthcare in South Carolina.
The committee will conduct proper research on the issues to determine how to improve healthcare for the state’s residents.
Moreover, the committee will be part of the state budget plan, which lawmakers will finalize in the coming weeks.
Davis is optimistic and believes his idea would help to benefit the needy group soon.
He says, “This particular study committee looks at two sides of the healthcare market equation: the supply side, which is expanding the number of providers and what they’re able to do, and the demand side, which is empowering patients.”
The committee will also conduct a deep study and focus on different ways to improve healthcare in South Carolina.
Some of these ideas include making it easier for people to use telemedicine (talking to doctors online), making sure people know how much healthcare costs, and getting rid of rules that restrict different types of healthcare workers from working together.
On a mission towards making South Calorina the 41 states for Medicaid expansion, Davis says that the committee wouldn’t randomly decide for or against the decision until it recognizes how they can make healthcare better in the state.
It’s important that we go ahead and have an open mind on everything, that we put all the facts on the table and have an honest discussion. We owe that to the people of South Carolina,” he said.
Sue Berkowitz with the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center said, “I’m under no delusions that this means it’s going to happen. But I would be so grateful if we can do a real look at all aspects of how we provide healthcare in South Carolina and how we can do better by people.”
Governor Henry McMaster has consistently been against Medicaid expansion, and his spokesperson, Brandon Charochak, says he doesn’t see the need to study the issue further.
Charochak adds, “Rather than obligating future generations of South Carolina taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs, the state’s emphasis should be on reducing poverty and expanding prosperity, thereby reducing the need for Medicaid assistance.”
However, a study released earlier this year by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that more than 100,000 uninsured South Carolinians are seeking to be eligible if the state expands Medicaid coverage.
If the committee is established, it is likely to prepare its recommendation by December 1st.
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