In this 3rd post of 3 I discuss the potential impact of cuts to Medicaid being considered by Congress and the President.  Last week I explained that specific changes, such as imposing a work requirement, are directed towards Medicaid recipients receiving Medicaid health benefits.  They would not apply to those people receiving long term care benefits. Other changes, however, would reduce federal funding.  Because Medicaid is a combination federal and state funded program, cutting federal funds would likely affect all of Medicaid’s various programs in indirect ways.  Each state manages its own program so Medicaid changes would affect each one in different ways.   If federal funds are cut, however, states would need to react by either increasing their funding to replace lost federal funds or cutting benefits. For example, the bill just passed by the House of Representatives which now awaits Senate review would cut federal funding to states that have expanded their Medicaid programs and that provide Medicaid coverage to undocumented immigrants using state funds.  Federal funds could be reduced by 10% or more to states that don’t comply. Any reduction in funding is bound to have some overall effect.  If states don’t replace federal funds then they could try to reduce the number of Medicaid recipients by making

In my blog post last week, I began a discussion about the possible impact of cuts to Medicaid.  This past week the House of Representatives approved a bill that among other things, reduces the federal outlay for Medicaid by almost a billion dollars.  The bill now goes to the Senate where some changes will almost certainly be made in order to obtain the votes needed for passage.  So there is still a lot of uncertainty as to what a final bill would look like. Nevertheless, we can examine what is and is not in the House bill just passed.  As I stated last week, the Medicaid program includes many different benefits.  The proposed cuts appear to be focused on the health insurance Medicaid benefits. The Medicaid long term care programs do not appear to be directly affected by these changes. For example, the proposed changes would impose a work requirement.  This is the change that has probably received the most attention in the media.  Medicaid recipients would need to work at least 80 hours per month to be and then maintain eligibility.   This requirement would apply to people ages 19 to 64.  In some cases community service, attending school or participating in a work program could be substituted.  Certain people would also

With so many significant changes being proposed, some which have already occurred in the first months of the new Congress and presidential administration, a question I am increasingly being asked by clients and prospects who are or may in the future apply for Medicaid is, “will there even be Medicaid when I need it?” It is impossible to answer this question with any certainty since we are living in very uncertain times.  Nevertheless, there is a certain level of misunderstanding about what is being considered by Washington and what is not.  It is these misconceptions that I can address. As I always explain, Medicaid is not one single “monolithic” program.  It is a series of different programs under what I call a “Medicaid umbrella”.  Additionally, while Medicaid was created by federal law, it is administered on the state level.  The federal government assigns a sum of money to each state.  Each state also funds these programs with its own money.   So, in order to understand the impact of any proposed changes and cuts, we need to examine which Medicaid programs may be affected and how the state that you reside in funds its programs.