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Tuesday, March 04, 2008
New Medicaid Rules May Cost States Triple Administration Estimate
Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Democrats released a report detailing the effects of the Bush Administration's Medicaid rule changes (one went into effect on Monday while several others are pending). According to the report, the new rules would cost state governments a total of $50 billion over five years - over three times the administration's $15 billion estimate.
The report is the product of the House committee's request to states to estimate their expected federal funding losses due to the proposed Medicaid rule changes.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has cast doubt on the accuracy the report, saying that ($):
"The Committee paper fails to provide any reliable information such as the assumptions, expenditure reports, the knowledge of how states will respond, and budget forecasts necessary to substantiate any of the numbers contained in the paper..."
However, committee chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) emphasized the role that federal funding plays in state budgets and its ability to provide resources to low-income families in economic downturns.
"As the economy tips into recession, the last thing we should be doing is taking federal funds from states, especially funds that are supposed to help people with their health and medical expenses..."
Posted by Craig Jennings
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