Christine Vestal at the website Stateline writes today about possible changes to the Medicaid funding formula. The administration’s so-called “blended rate” proposal would change how federal money is divided among the states. Here’s an excerpt:
“If Democrats and Republicans in Washington ever come together on a deal to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget, it almost certainly would require changes to Medicaid, the state-run health care program for the poor that consumes about 8 percent of the federal budget.
“House Republicans already have voted to convert Medicaid into a block grant program, a controversial move that would save the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars. During the federal debt ceiling debate, the Obama administration has issued its alternative — a plan to cut $100 billion from federal Medicaid spending over the next decade.
“To states, the most significant part of Obama’s plan is a change in a few key funding formulas that determine how many federal dollars states get for Medicaid. Obama’s so-called “blended rate” would simplify the way federal money is divvied among the states. But it also would shift a greater share of Medicaid spending to the states —which has riled numerous governors and nearly everyone in the health care community”
Click here to read the entire article.
