Published: July 16, 2008 10:43 pm         

Agreement

It’s about time Medicaid realized health care is a two-way street

After doling out untold amounts of money to provide health care, Medicaid has finally found the right prescription for a total health package.

Under a revamped Medicaid plan, recipients will receive additional services in exchange for a pledge to improve their health.

More than 11,000 recipients have agreed to sign up for the Mountain Health Choices plan.

To maintain their end of the bargain, recipients will agree to keep regular doctor visits and to take their prescription medications as prescribed. In exchange, they can receive weight management, cardiac rehabilitation, nutritional education and other services.

Recipients who don’t sign the agreements will be enrolled in a plan with fewer benefits.

It’s about time.

Providing health care benefits for people who won’t take basic steps to improve their own health has been an expensive liability for this state for a long time.

We’re not talking about health conditions over which we have no control. The plan provides incentives to deal with health threats such as obesity, a leading cause of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

These three conditions put West Virginia near the top of the charts in medical liability. Something as simple as taking blood pressure medicine as it is prescribed can make a world of difference in the health of that patient. Becoming involved in a realistic weight management program can lower blood pressure and decrease the risks of heart disease and diabetes.

Regular exercise and a good diet have been shown indisputably to control all three of these major health threats.

Maintaining better overall health and seeing a health care provider regularly can lead to the early detection of life-threatening diseases such as many forms of cancer.

Good health care is a two-way street, not just for Medicaid recipients, but for all of us. We can’t look to doctors and drugs to cure everything that ails us. We each need to become actively involved in managing our own health care.

The new Medicaid plan — and a good initial response from recipients — is encouraging. We hope to see more recipients come on board. These changes can go a long way in reducing health care costs. Prevention is always less expensive than treatments and cures.

It’s about time Medicaid realized health care is a two-way street. It’s about time the rest of us realize that, too.