Lawmakers soften blow to Medicaid cuts

Air Date:03/10/2011

By Jackelyn Severin
 
Lawmakers have passed an amendment to the Governor’s budget that saves Medicaid funding from a full ten percent cut. Jason Dilges is with the Bureau of Finance and Management. He says the Department of Social Services found extra money from stimulus funding and also had fewer people using Medicaid this year than previously projected. He says the total savings add up to around 12 million dollars. Dilges says with this change Medicaid funding will receive a 6 percent cut for fiscal year 2012. However, Dilges says because this is a one-time fund Medicaid providers will be back to a ten percent cut in 2013. He says in the mean time providers need to work to make the Medicaid system more cost effective. 
 
Dilges says, “This does give us a two year approach in which to try and seek to garner those efficiencies and its our hope that with better economic times the thirteen budget will never result in the base being reduced fully.”
 
Dilges says the amendment also changes how Medicaid funding is distributed for providers. He says the reimbursement rate will now be provided on a tiered system so facilities, like nursing homes, who receive the majority of their earnings from Medicaid patients, will receive less of a cut.

Member stations download audio file.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.