Utah Gov. announces 'conceptual' deal with feds on Medicaid expansion

Gov. Gary Herbert, after meeting with HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, says state and federal officials are nearing a final agreement on Utah's alternative proposal for expanding Medicaid.

The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Gov: We Have A 'Conceptual' Deal On Medicaid
The Obama administration has agreed in concept to Utah's novel alternative to expanding Medicaid, including the notion that able-bodied people who get insurance subsidies should accept the state's help with finding work, Gov. Gary Herbert said late Tuesday. The governor said after a meeting with Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, that a final agreement is two or three weeks away (Moulton, 9/9).

Deseret News: Herbert Reaches Understanding 'Conceptually' On Medicaid Expansion
But in a conference call with reporters after a meeting in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the governor stopped short of saying there's an agreement on the issue. "I wouldn't say we've reached an agreement. I think we understand conceptually what we're trying to accomplish," Herbert said, adding there are still details that need to worked out but the deal could be finalized in the next couple of weeks (Riley Roche, 9/9).

In other Medicaid expansion news --

The Fiscal Times: Arkansas Expanded Medicaid Program Will Cost $778M More Than Expected
When Arkansas expanded Medicaid through its private option earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that the first-of-its-kind program would be budget-neutral. But now federal auditors are blaming HHS for flawed estimates and say it will actually cost taxpayers an extra $778 million over the next three years. In a new report from the Government Accountability Office, auditors say HHS did not ensure budget neutrality (Ehley, 9/10).