By: Sara Murray | WSJ Like nearly every other governor, Maine's new Republican leader is trying to tame the cost of Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health insurance to the poor. He just doesn't know if Washington will let him—even though Maine has among the most generous programs in the country. Medicaid was created in 1965 to provide health coverage for the poorest Americans, particularly those with children. States pay, on average, 43% of the tab for … [Read more...]
Healthcare reform waivers are unfair
January 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
With states and small businesses struggling to define the financial path to implementation of the provisions of healthcare reform, we believe it is unfair to single out states and big businesses by allowing them "waivers." These waivers have long been political carrots for public assistance programs such as Medicaid and Food Stamps. States - with hat in hand - head to DC to beg the bureaucrats to allow them to build programs and solutions that will work in their states. More often than not, … [Read more...]
State Agencies, Including Medicaid, Told to Make Further Budget Cuts
December 9, 2010 By 1 Comment
By Robert T. Garret / The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN - State leaders, trying to dig out of a hole in the current two-year budget before the next one has to be whacked, ordered agencies Tuesday to further curb spending. Agency chiefs were told in a letter that they must reduce expenditures by 2.5 percent in the remaining nine months of the fiscal year. Managers of the state Medicaid program immediately announced they would cut another 1 percent from the fees paid to doctors, … [Read more...]
The Budget Process, Warnings and Carnage
November 29, 2010 By 1 Comment
By Ross Ramsey New York Times Original Article: Texas Tribune Here's how State Representative Jim Pitts interprets the Election Day results: "We're making huge cuts," the Waxahachie Republican who heads the House Appropriations Committee told a hometown Tea Party group last week. The legislative session starts in January, but Mr. Pitts and his fellow finance types have been at work for months. Now they're finding out whether voters really want the cuts they seemed to be demanding when … [Read more...]
Congress burns through cash
October 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Fox Business News, Oct 12, 2010 This week FOX Business is focusing on ways the government is burning your money-- and boy, are they ever! This congress-- in just the last two years-- has taken spending to a whole new level, make that a whole new stratosphere! And it's got to stop. In each of the last two years spending by this government has totaled around $3.5 trillion each year. So where did that money go? The Wall Street Journal outlined it for us: Medicare saw … [Read more...]
New Governors face fiscal mess
October 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
More than 30 states will elect Governors next month. These new Gov's (possibly a few re-elects) will face unprecetented fiscal crises due to the drying up of enhanced Medicaid funding from the Feds and record high unemployment ratest that will linger into mid 2011. These newly minted state CEO's will be forced to spend an inordinate amount of time during their respective transitions dealing with the crushing weight of exploding Medicaid/CHIP enrollment and spending. Critical decisions … [Read more...]
State budgets pressuring Medicaid rates
October 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It is no secret that state budgets are under pressure. Leaders is Texas have pegged their hole somewhere between $15 and $20 billion. Other states are looking at deficits proportionally larger. With Medicaid commanding larger and larger portions of state's budgets, a substantial portion of any deficit will fall to Medicaid. Rates paid to providers by Medicaid are in jepeordy. Two important differences in coming years as opposed to deficits in the past will be in play. First, Congress … [Read more...]
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