Manatt’s Deborah Bachrach, a partner with Manatt Health, was quoted by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on Montana lawmakers’ discussion of state Medicaid expansions.
According to the publication, Montana intends to expand Medicaid in 2019. The Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee met to discuss the current state of Medicaid expansion and what funding changes could come down the road.
Nearly 81,000 Montana residents could have access to health coverage as a result of an expansion program. The committee discussed two structures — a per capita cap and block-grant funding — and Bachrach said that both options would limit Montana’s access to federal dollars.
“From my perspective, you’re turning over spending decisions and fiscal discipline to the federal government,” explained Bachrach. She said that if a state exceeds its federal spending, that money would come out of next year’s allotment under a per capita model. This could cause the state to try to hold back spending, though any federal dollars that go untouched would never return to the state.
Read the article here.