Some New Jersey lawmakers have threatened to exclude Medicaid spending from 2012 state budget negotiations, if they don't get more details from Gov. Chris Christie's administration on plans to save $300 million in the program.
Appearing before the Assembly Budget Committee on April 5, Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez, and Acting Commissioner for Health and Senior Services Mary O'Dowd provided few details on the administration's plan, which includes seeking a Medicaid waiver from the federal government. The state has not yet applied for the waiver, though Christie's budget, which was submitted in February, includes the $300 million in savings. Velez told the committee members that she would provide details of the waiver application once it was completed.
The Washington state legislature released its two-year budget proposal, which included more than $250 million in cuts to hospitals in the state Medicaid program, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. WSHA contends the new budget violates an agreement made last year on the Hospital Safety Net Assessment by changing the assessment from a fee to a tax. The proposed budget would also cut $75 in emergency room payments, which could lead to decreased utilization of the ER for even life-threatening conditions, the hospital association warned. "Ultimately, the burden of these cuts will fall on poor children, seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income workers," said Lee Greenawalt," president of WSHA. "The costs will also fall on middle-class workers who have private pay insurance as hospitals are forced to shift the cost of state underpayments to them."
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn urged state lawmakers to authorize issuing $1.75 billion to $2 billion in short-term bonds to pay Medicaid bills through July. The action to clear the backlog of reimbursements would allow the state to capture more in federal Medicaid matching dollars before the enhanced reimbursement rate under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expires June 30. Quinn is also looking for lawmakers to authorize a new form of short-term borrowing for the state in this instance. Under current state law, short-term bonding must be repaid within the same fiscal year. Quinn wants the legislature to extend that term in order to use revenue increases projected from a recent income tax hike in the state. Even without the bonds, the state has recently upped its weekly Medicaid reimbursements to $350 million from $100 million to take advantage of the enhanced federal match.