States and Medicaid Enrollment

Posted on February 19, 2010 by townsend

• States consider Medicaid cuts as use grows, By Kevin Sack and Robert Pear, February 18, 2010, New York Times: “Facing relentless fiscal pressure and exploding demand for government health care, virtually every state is making or considering substantial cuts in Medicaid, even as Democrats push to add 15 million people to the rolls. Because they are temporarily barred from reducing eligibility, states have been left to cut ‘optional benefits,’ like dental and vision care, and reduce payments to doctors and other health care providers. In some states, governors are trying to avoid the deepest cuts by pushing for increases in tobacco taxes or new levies on hospitals and doctors, but many of those proposals are running into election-year trouble in conservative legislatures…”
• Medicaid enrollment rises nationwide, analysis finds, By Amy Goldstein, February 19, 2010, Washington Post: “The recession has fueled the greatest influx of Americans onto Medicaid since the earliest days of the public insurance program for the poor, according to new findings that show caseloads have surged in every state. More than 3 million people joined Medicaid in the year that ended in June, the data released Thursday show. That pushed enrollment to a record 46.8 million, exacerbating the financial strains on already burdened states and complicating the federal politics of health care. The analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy and research organization, found that in three-fifths of the jurisdictions, including Maryland and the District, people rushed into the safety net for health coverage at more than twice the rate as the year before…”
• Medicaid enrollment climbs, By Richard Wolf, February 18, 2010, USA Today: “More than half the states are reducing Medicaid services and payments to health care providers this year as the recession propelled enrollments to record levels and sapped money from treasuries. Governors who will meet with President Obama this weekend have taken some actions to close budget deficits. Arizona froze enrollment in its Children’s Health Insurance Program. California plans to close adult day health care centers next month. Nevada is cutting coverage for eyeglasses, dentures and hearing aids…”
• Report: Without more federal help, states will likely cut Medicaid, By David Goldstein, February 18, 2010, Kansas City Star: “Unless Congress bails them out, states probably will have to cut health coverage for low-income families and others without insurance, a new report says. Lawmakers included higher Medicaid reimbursement funds for states in last year’s economic stimulus bill, but the money will expire Dec. 31. Without an extension, most states won’t be able to ensure that eligible Medicaid beneficiaries will be served, according to Families USA, a nonpartisan health advocacy group, which issued the report Thursday…”