Officials: Wisconsin will need another $650 million for Medicaid
Wisconsin's Department of Health Services submitted a proposal to Gov. Scott Walker for an additional $650 million needed to fund the state's Medicaid program for the next two-year budget cycle.
The additional money is needed because of rising health care costs, more people joining the programs, increased use of services by those in the programs and a lowering aid rate from the federal government, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The proposal wouldn't change the benefits in the program or any other aspects. In the last budget cycle, the state added $1.2 billion to the agency's budget, but it was not enough to keep up with rising healthcare costs and resulted in the state needing to cut benefits.
Idaho mulls decision on whether to expand Medicaid
A new report from Salt Lake City-based Leavitt Partners was recently presented to Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, that details the potential options and impacts to the state should it decide to forge ahead with a Medicaid expansion. According to the report, close to 111,500 additional Idahoans would qualify for Medicaid if the state expanded its eligibility, which would expand the number of Idahoans on Medicaid by nearly 50 percent above the 235,000 who are currently enrolled in the program. Expanding the program would provide insurance for low-income adults up to 138 percent below the federal poverty line. Currently, Idaho only allows adults who are not disabled or elderly to qualify for Medicaid if they have children and an income less than 20 percent of the poverty level. The report suggested Idaho wait for more federal guidance before making a decision on whether to expand the program.
Miss. Medicaid expansion cost pegged at $1.6 billion over ten years
The director of the Mississippi Medicaid told state House and Senate leaders that expanding the insurance program for the poor under the federal health-care law could cost the state a cumulative $1.6 billion over 10 years. The tab casued Republican House and Senate leaders to reiterate their opposition to the expansion, according to report in the Biloxi-Gulfport SunHerald. But critics say the estimate is based on flawed assumptions, including that all eligible people will enroll in the program by 2020, something that is unlikely based on the participation numbers of other programs. Instead, some point to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which estimated that Mississippi would have to pay $429 millionfor a more modest growth in Medicaid enrollment by 2019.