News analysis: Medicaid expansion answers hard to come by, By Mike Dennison, September 9, 2012, Helena Independent Record: “When Gov. Brian Schweitzer submits his farewell state budget in November, he’ll spell out how Montana should expand Medicaid in 2014 to provide health coverage for another 50,000 of our lower-income fellow citizens – or maybe not. Schweitzer, whose final term in office ends Dec. 31, isn’t saying whether he wants to expand Medicaid in Montana, as allowed and bankrolled by the federal health-reform law. In a recent interview, the Democratic governor said his administration wants to know the ground rules for the expansion, such as whether Montana can make some adjustments and still get federal financing…”
Medicaid moratorium could hamper Illinois action on federal health law, By Doug Finke and Chris Wetterich, September 8, 2012, State Journal-Register: “Medicaid changes approved by Illinois lawmakers to rein in the skyrocketing cost of the program may have another effect. They could make it more difficult for the state to implement the federal Affordable Care Act. Along with sweeping changes to eligibility standards, rate reductions, program elimination and other cost-containment measures, lawmakers approved a four-year moratorium on expansion of Illinois’ Medicaid program. Coupled with the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, some lawmakers believe the General Assembly will have to suspend or repeal the moratorium if there is going to be an expansion of Medicaid rolls that results from the ACA…”
Medicaid costs top worries of W.Va., 21 other states, By Phil Kabler, August 7, 2012, Charleston Gazette: “West Virginia is one of 22 states citing increasing costs of Medicaid as the top budget challenge facing it in the 2012-13 budget year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ new update on state budgets. Additionally, eight states cite increased Medicaid spending as the second-biggest budget challenge, while three states listed it third among budget issues, according to the NCSL report to be released Tuesday. For West Virginia, the state’s share of Medicaid costs will increase by about $80 million in the current budget year, a result of reduced federal matching funds and increased costs for health-care services…”
Federal government trying to entice states to expand Medicaid, By Kevin O’Hanlon, August 10, 2012, Lincoln Journal Star: “Amid ongoing resistance from some governors to increase Medicaid coverage under the new federal health care law, the federal government is trying to entice more states to expand the program. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but said the expansion of Medicaid benefits in the law essentially was a new program, thereby making it optional for states. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman and several other governors have said they will reject the law’s Medicaid expansion because they fear its costs will be unsustainable…”
Michigan could scale back Medicaid expansion if costs become too burdensome, By Melissa Anders, August 10, 2012, MLive.com: “Supporters of the Affordable Care Act are hopeful that Michigan will expand its Medicaid program now that a federal official has said states could opt out down the road.
But a spokesman for House Leader Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said that’s not necessarily enough to sway his opinion in favor of the measure. The Affordable Care Act calls for an expansion of Medicaid that in Michigan would add at least 400,000 people to the federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled…”
3 million fewer may be insured due to ruling, study predicts, By Robert Pear, July 24, 2012, New York Times: “The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that the Supreme Court decision on President Obama’s health care overhaul would probably lead to an increase in the number of uninsured and a modest reduction in the cost to the federal government, compared with estimates before the court ruling. The court said, in effect, that a large expansion of Medicaid envisioned under the 2010 law was a state option, not a requirement. As a result, the budget office said, it now predicts that six million fewer people will be insured by Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people. But half of them, it said, will probably gain private insurance coverage through health insurance exchanges to be established in all states…”
Supreme Court decision scales back cost, coverage of healthcare law, By Noam N. Levey, July 24, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “Fewer Americans will likely get health insurance over the next decade under President Obama’s healthcare law as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to limit it, according to a new analysis of the landmark ruling. At the same time, the court’s decision to allow states to opt out of a major expansion of the government Medicaid insurance program for the poor could also save taxpayers $84 billion by 2022, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates. The new projections confirm that the court’s ruling will not fundamentally alter the law that Obama signed in 2010…”
CBO: Court ruling cuts cost of health-care law, but leaves 3 million more uninsured, By Lori Montgomery, July 24, 2012, Washington Post: “President Obama’s signature health-care initiative will cost a bit less than expected thanks to last month’s Supreme Court ruling, but the court’s decision is also likely to leave millions of poor people without access to health insurance, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday. In its June 28 ruling, the court upheld the bulk of the Affordable Care Act, but struck down its plan to require states to expand their Medicaid programs to cover poor people who earn as much as 138 percent of the federal poverty level. As a result of the court’s decision, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now expects that some states will refuse to fully expand their Medicaid programs or will not do so immediately when most provisions of the law take effect in 2014…”
