Medicaid Funding Changes: The Risks and Consequences Explained
Why Changing Medicaid Funding Could Be Harmful to Healthcare Access
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) released a report applying lessons learned from various welfare reforms to potential changes to Medicaid.
They caution that limiting Medicaid funding via “block grants” or “per capita caps” is harmful to states and consumers for 5 reasons:
1. Funding will not keep up with need, burdening state budgets.
2. Medicaid will no longer respond automatically to economic downturns.
3. States will be under pressure to cut benefits and reimbursements.
4. States may cut eligibility, pitting vulnerable populations against each other.
5. The safety net will be inconsistent across states.
