Alaska, Oklahoma, South Carolina Address Medicaid Budget Issues
The following summarizes recent actions taken in three states to address Medicaid budget shortfalls:
- Alaska: The Alaska House on April 12 approved a supplemental appropriations bill (SB 291) that, among other things, includes $4.5 million to fund Medicaid through the rest of the year, the AP/Anchorage Daily News reports. The state's Medicaid program is set to run out of money without the supplemental appropriation. The supplemental funding was passed earlier by the Senate, and the legislation now goes to a joint committee (AP/Anchorage Daily News, 4/12).
- Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which manages the state's Medicaid program, is asking the state Legislature to approve an emergency supplemental appropriation to help cover a $7.47 million reduction in state funding over the next three months. If the Legislature fails to approve the additional funding, the agency would lose a total of $12.7 million, accounting for federal matching funds. In response to the budget problems, the agency on April 9 voted to notify the state attorney general that it might need to bypass administrative procedures to implement reductions in Medicaid services (Hinton, Daily Oklahoman, 4/12).
- South Carolina: A state Senate Finance subcommittee approved a bill last week to cover the state's Medicaid budget shortfall by raising the tax on cigarettes from seven cents to 29 cents. The Department of Health and Human Services has indicated it needs $185 million to prevent service cuts for Medicaid beneficiaries next year. The tax would generate about $83 million for the program, which would cover the difference when combined with federal matching funds. The plan faces opposition, however, as many senators have pledged not to raise taxes, and House members and Gov. Jim Hodges (D) have "expressed skepticism" about the plan (Maze, Charleston Post and Courier, 4/12).
