While Obama Seeks New Ideas, His Bureaucracy Stifles Them - Page 1 - Byron York - Townhall Conservative

While Obama Seeks New Ideas, His Bureaucracy Stifles Them - Page 1 - Byron York - Townhall Conservative: "Nearly a year ago, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and his healthcare policy team came up with a simple way to save the state's Medicaid program a lot of money. Why not have Medicaid recipients and applicants handle their paperwork online? Using e-mail and a special website rather than paper, Herbert calculated, would save Utah about $6.3 million a year. 'It seemed like a no-brainer to us,' says the governor.

The problem was, going paperless required a rules waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services. And that's where the idea ran into a brick wall.

'We tried for eight months to get the waiver,' says Herbert. HHS delayed and delayed and delayed -- and then finally said no. 'The denial we got back from the secretary of HHS was by e-mail, of all things,' Herbert says, pausing a second for the listener to take it in. 'The irony is rich.'"

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