Testimony: Dentist says current Medicaid dollars ‘treat symptoms, not cause’

Scott Burpee of Pocatello, head of Safe Haven Health Care, told JFAC, “Many providers are facing imminent bankruptcy. … Many of us have ruined credit. … From a banking standpoint, Medicaid has become an unreliable funding stream to base credit on.” He said, “I strongly urge you to investigate what happened here.” He also urged lawmakers to keep personal care services. The cost per patient for day for those is just $8, he said, while the cost to institutionalize those same patients at State Hospital South is $550 per day, and it’s all state general funds, rather than drawing on Medicaid.

Christa Ledbetter of Idaho Falls said her son, Spencer, has schizophrenia. “Eliminating mental health services will not eliminate mental health diagnoses,” she told lawmakers. “It will increase the health costs.”

Dentist Rich Bailey of Moscow suggested a tax on carbonated, sugary beverages rather continuing to limit funding for dental care. “Dental providers have left the program in droves,” Bailey said. “Current Medicaid dollars treat the symptoms and not the cause.”