States are nearing a showdown with the federal government over ways to deal with the rising costs of Medicaid programs, according to a report by Kaiser Health News.
Arizona has already asked HHS for a waiver from federal requirements against cutting Medicaid coverage and other states may follow. If HHS refuses, states may cut Medicaid anyway, forcing the Obama administration to decide whether to cut federal matching payments to those states as punishment.
State budgets are expected to get very tight after June, when enhanced federal matching grants will expire. Some leading Senate Democrats want to extend the enhanced funding until 2014, but it would be very expensive and the overall mood in Congress is to keep spending in check.
Meanwhile, a federal panel charged with finding solutions to the Medicaid crisis has scrapped draft recommendations and wants to start over again, according to a report by Politico. Members of the Medicaid and Chip Payment and Access Commission were "nervous" and "concerned" about the direction the panel was moving and had questions about costs, Politico said.
Read the Kaiser Health News report on Medicaid.
Read the Politico report on Medicaid.
Read more coverage on Medicaid cuts:
- CMS Head Advising States With Medicaid Funding Problems
- Supreme Court to Hear States' Call to Cut Medicaid Spending
- Arizona Hospitals Want to Assess $300 Million Bed Tax to Counter Medicaid Cuts
Arizona has already asked HHS for a waiver from federal requirements against cutting Medicaid coverage and other states may follow. If HHS refuses, states may cut Medicaid anyway, forcing the Obama administration to decide whether to cut federal matching payments to those states as punishment.
State budgets are expected to get very tight after June, when enhanced federal matching grants will expire. Some leading Senate Democrats want to extend the enhanced funding until 2014, but it would be very expensive and the overall mood in Congress is to keep spending in check.
Meanwhile, a federal panel charged with finding solutions to the Medicaid crisis has scrapped draft recommendations and wants to start over again, according to a report by Politico. Members of the Medicaid and Chip Payment and Access Commission were "nervous" and "concerned" about the direction the panel was moving and had questions about costs, Politico said.
Read the Kaiser Health News report on Medicaid.
Read the Politico report on Medicaid.
Read more coverage on Medicaid cuts:
- CMS Head Advising States With Medicaid Funding Problems
- Supreme Court to Hear States' Call to Cut Medicaid Spending
- Arizona Hospitals Want to Assess $300 Million Bed Tax to Counter Medicaid Cuts