Stimulus package leaves states limited options to cut Medicaid

News outlets report on the limited options states can employ to reduce Medicaid costs, including cutting adult dental care.

The federal economic stimulus package provided states with billions of dollars for Medicaid, but it also "temporarily barred states from cutting back on who is eligible for Medicaid," which is "one of the most potent tools states have to control their health care costs and balance their budgets," Stateline.org reports. "As a familiar recessionary cycle kicked in — more people enrolled in Medicaid at exactly the time state budgets were under the most stress — states had limited options at their disposal. The result was a flurry of budget cutting in the areas of Medicaid that states still had control over. Many states made cuts in the rates they pay to reimburse doctors for seeing Medicaid patients. Others cut back on the type or amount of benefits their Medicaid programs would cover. In many cases, these cuts came on top of similar cuts made last year" (Grovum, 5/26).

Michigan Radio reports on one way cuts are being seen in the state: "Last summer the Michigan legislature removed adult dental benefits from Medicaid." That cut coverage to more than 690,000 people. In response, the Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that "helps developmentally disabled people live independent lives," put together "a free dental cleaning day recently in Ann Arbor" (Motson, 5/26).

---

This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.