Most States Expect Higher Costs After Medicaid Expansion

A new report from the Government Accountability Office found that most state budget directors expect an increase in their costs if they expand Medicaid, even when the federal government picks up 100 percent of the expanded enrollment tab.

Modern Healthcare: States See Increased Costs In Medicaid Expansion: Survey
Most states expect the Medicaid eligibility expansion to increase their costs, even during the three years that the federal government provides a 100 percent reimbursement for the expanded enrollment, a government survey found. Ancillary activities to the Medicaid expansion included in the 2010 federal health care overhaul that are expected to increase costs for most states include the need to upgrade information technology for eligibility determinations, according to a Government Accountability Office survey of state budget directors released Wednesday (Daly, 8/1).

CQ HealthBeat: Health Care Law's Medicaid Expansion Costs Worry State Officials, GAO Finds
State budget directors are concerned about the cost and complexity of the Medicaid expansion included in the health care law, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday. The GAO, in response to a request from Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, surveyed states on how, by Jan. 1, 2014, they plan to implement the expansion of the joint federal-state Medicaid program to childless adults earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level (Norman, 8/2).

In Maine, officials are seeking to cut 30,000 from the Medicaid rolls --

The Wall Street Journal: Maine Seeks To Make Medicaid Cuts
Maine moved to strip about 30,000 low-income Medicaid patients from the state-run health program Wednesday, formally challenging federal officials on a key provision of the health law (Weaver, 8/1).

Politico Pro: Maine May Challenge Medicaid Rule In Court
Maine has formally asked the Obama administration to let the state pare back its Medicaid rolls, setting the stage for what could be another ugly legal fight over the president's health care law. Looking to reduce Medicaid eligibility rules in three areas, Maine argues that the Supreme Court's decision on the Medicaid expansion invalidated the Affordable Care Act's maintenance of effort provisions -- a claim that the administration has disputed (Millman, 8/1).