Another dose of fiscal reality, this one from the Government Accountability Office: While the fiscal condition of state and local governments has improved slightly over the past year (you call that an improvement?), says the GAO in a new report, “State and Local Governments’ Fiscal Outlook,” the long-term outlook looks as bleak as ever. Rising costs are being driven by health care — Medicaid, medical insurance for public employees, and health insurance benefits for retirees. Absent major policy changes on the part of state/local governments, here is the deficit trajectory (click on chart for more legible image):
In other words, state and local governments face decades of horrendous fiscal challenges. Please note: This doesn’t come from “Boomer Jim,” the “Baconauts” or some other putatively ideological, Tea Party-tainted source. This comes from the Government Accountability Office… under the Obama administration.
Implication for Virginia: We can’t wait for the federal government to enact real health care reform. We need to do whatever lies within our power to transform Virginia’s health care system with the goals of increasing productivity and improving outcomes.
