Idaho’s Medicaid program stabilizes, but changes coming…

After years of relentless growth, Idaho lawmakers received a budget request for the state’s Medicaid program Tuesday that’s nearly flat in state funds, and just a 7.6 percent increase overall - even though the program is expected to add roughly 70,000 new recipients next year due to changes in federal laws. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com. The slower growth is mainly because Idaho’s caseload numbers in the health care program for the poor and disabled have stopped climbing so quickly as the state’s come out of the recession; it’s also because federal funds are up, meaning the state can spend less. Idaho’s federal matching rate for next year is going up, to the tune of $11.8 million.

It also in part reflects an overfunding of the program last year, when more growth was anticipated than actually came through. That prompted the program to turn back $46 million to the state general fund unused; officials say a new claims system is now allowing more accurate forecasts.

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, vice-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, welcomed the slowing in the program’s growth, but cautioned, “The devil’s always in the details.” She said, “My focus tends to be less on the numbers, and more on the delivery of services to those who need it.”