Colorado Cuts Costs By Banning Medicaid Coverage of Circumcisions

Lawmakers in Colorado decided that the mere $186,500 they will save annually by eliminating state Medicaid coverage of routine circumcisions was still worth it, because, whatever, why not, they aren't really necessary for medical reasons. Who can resist these kinds of dumb headlines, anyway? Nobody. Probably other, actually devastating things were also cut (there's that word again! sorry), but we don't know because this article just talks mostly about some kind of fake debate about the highly divisive "circumcision issue" getting media coverage these days. Oh well, low-income dudes will not be able to get their freebie state circumcisions anymore. They will just have to wait on their circumcisions until they can grow up and pay for them on their own:

The change, which takes effect July 1 and is expected to save the state's general fund $186,500 annually, was part of a series of budget cuts approved by lawmakers during the recent legislative session.

Halting Medicaid coverage for circumcision is increasingly common across the country and is a relatively easy choice because there is virtually no medical justification for the procedure.

"The medical reasons are not convincing either way," said Dr. Susan Pharo, director of Medicaid and External Pediatric Care for Kaiser Permanente.

[ Denver Post ]