Governor Pataki made much of the “historic” Medicaid cost-containment initiatives he persuaded the Legislature to enact as part of this year’s New York State budget. But some of his fellow governors have gone beyond mere budget-cutting to seek more fundamental and innovative Medicaid reform, as noted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed article co-authored by Dr. Regina Herzlinger, a Harvard Business School professor and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Governors Jeb Bush of Florida and Mark Sanford of South Carolina are seeking federal waivers to designed to inject a more “consumer-driven” approach into their Medicaid systems, the article notes. Their goal is to give patients more ability to manage their own health purchases, and to give health care providers more ability to tailor programs to patient needs. Another key element would be the creation of improved systems for providing Medicaid receipients with the information they need to make intelligent choices.

…For example, [Sanford’s] plan would liberate recipients with a budget sufficient to meet their particular health care needs, a catastrophic health insurance policy, and free preventive care. Enrollees could roll over unexpected annual funds. He would enable intelligent choice by transforming the Medicaid agency from a health care purchaser and micro-manager to an educator and facilitator. Jeb Bush’s consumer-driven Medicaid program frees supply by encouraging innovations such as provider-sponsored, community-based health service systems.

The whole article is here (registration required).