GOP House Bill Would Give Medicaid Enrollees ‘Swipe Cards’ For Services

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) introduced a bill Tuesday (May 14) that would allow Medicaid enrollees to choose to use a pre-paid “swipe card” to purchase medical care -- a proposal Green said would drive down costs and introduce more competition into the health sector, but one policy analyst said might instead drive up costs. Medicaid advocates worry that a lack of price transparency would make such a set up difficult for beneficiaries. The Medicaid Improvement and State Flexibility Act would...