With states confronting a weakening economy, enrollment in Medicaid began to rise last year with states expecting even larger increases for FY09, according to a new 50-state survey released Sept. 29 by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU). With the increased enrollment, Medicaid spending is also rising more rapidly than in the recent past, raising the potential for program cutbacks as states confront the combined impact of more enrollees and fewer available resources.
The survey finds that Medicaid enrollment across the country grew 2.1 percent in FY08, more than erasing a slight decline in enrollment experienced the previous year. States also experienced spending growth of 5.3 percent, up significantly from the previous two years. For FY09, states expect to see even larger increases in Medicaid enrollment (3.5 percent) and spending (5.8 percent).
The survey report, Headed for a Crunch: An Update on Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Heading into an Economic Downturn, comes as states face serious financial constraints, with 30 states having confronted significant budget shortfalls as they prepared their FY09 budgets. Medicaid directors attributed the growth in enrollment and spending to the weakened economic outlook facing their states. Access the report.
