Attempts to control the rate of increase in Medicaid spending in recent years have been misguided, argue researchers in an article published in Health Affairs. What is required instead is fundamental Medicaid reform to address state variations in benefits and help states cope with rising health costs. The authors lay out four options for restructuring Medicaid that would shift more of the cost and risk for cost growth onto the federal government with a net increase of $24 billion to $30 billion a year. Their proposals would offer greater uniformity of coverage for low-income populations and provide a foundation for building on many of the expansion and tax credit proposals already put forward by states and others to reduce the number of uninsured Americans.
