Wis. says it needs $760M for Medicaid over next two years

The state was already projected to have a budget gap of $1.8 billion. Elsewhere, North Carolina plans a Medicaid reorganization.

The Associated Press: Wisconsin Needs $760M More For Medicaid
The state Department of Health Services says it needs $760 million more over the next two-year state budget to pay for current services in the Medicaid program. The new estimate was included in the agency's budget request submitted to Gov. Scott Walker's administration made public Tuesday. That budget begins in mid-2015. The governor will submit a budget proposal to the Legislature early next year. The state is already projected to have a nearly $1.8 billion shortfall heading into the next budget, without taking into account new expenses like the additional request for Medicaid (9/16).

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: State Needs $760 Million More For Health Care Over Next Two Years
State taxpayers will need to round up $760 million more to pay for health care for the needy over the next two years, according to a projection by Gov. Scott Walker's administration. The report by the state Department of Health Services calculates the effects of inflation in programs such as medical care for families and nursing home and in-home care for the elderly. Part of the added cost to state taxpayers for these Medicaid programs also comes from automatic decreases in federal aid that are being triggered because of Wisconsin's improving economy (Stein and Marley, 9/16).

Raleigh News & Observer: State Medicaid Office Rolls Out Reorganization Plan
Employees in the state Medicaid office got a look at a new reorganization plan Tuesday that includes more sections and more specialized units. Rather than two sections -- finance and operations, reporting to the Medicaid director -- there will be five, with compliance and oversight, clinical, business information added. Additionally, the plan calls for a new three-person strategy team reporting to the Medicaid director (Bonner, 9/16).