Remember the movie, “Invincible?” Based on the true story of Vince Papale, Greg Kinnear played the new football coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Eagles were so bad, at the time the movie took place, that, out of sheer desperation and drive to make the community notice the football team, Greg Kinnear opened tryouts in order to allow anyone to tryout for the professional football team.  In comes Mark Walberg (playing Vince Papale). A bartender who plays football with his friends in an abandoned car lot.  And, lo, and behold, Mark Walberg, who never played football in college, makes the professional football team and proceeds to make a difference in Philadelphia football history.

I tell this story because, much like the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976, the NC Medicaid system is at a very low period.  And, similar to Greg Kinear’s plead to the citizens of Philadelphia, Governor McCrory and Aldona Wos have issued a Request for Information (“RFI”).

Click here for the actual RFI.

What is an RFI? Basically, an RFI is an invitation to the public for any ideas on how to fix our Medicaid system.  Just like Greg Kinnear opening the professional football team to the public, McCrory is accepting anyone’s ideas on Medicaid.  Similar to Kinnear’s experience, I’d wager that McCrory will have to wade through hundreds of dead-ends.  Remember, in Invincible, hundreds of people tried out for the Eagles, but only one non-professional player, Mark Walberg, made the team.  Even though only one non-professional person made the team in Invincible, that one person made a huge difference. The whole city cheered for Mark Walberg (Vince Papale).

So, I encourage everyone to participate in this RFI.  If you have an idea to improve our Medicaid system, submit it.  Who knows? Maybe we will find our own Vince Papale for NC Medicaid…

Submit by 2:00pm, March 15, 2013.