States with less generous Medicaid programs face new burden under health-insurance reform law

The new health reform law has caused individuals to celebrate its benefits, but there may be a delayed hangover among officials in states with less generous Medicaid programs, mainly in the South, who will have to find ways to pay part of the bill. "The law may be as much of a burden to some state budgets as it is a boon to uninsured consumers," The New York Times' Michael Luo reports.

In 2014, Medicaid will begin expanding to cover the uninsured. In 2017, states will have to start contributing to the cost and pay 10 percent of it by 2020. The state-by-state burden is indicated by this Times map, which shows what percentage of those who were uninsured in 2007-08 would qualify for Medicaid in 2014.

"States with the largest uninsured populations, like Texas and California, might be considered by its backers the biggest winners to emerge from the law, because so many additional residents will have access to health insurance. But because those states are being required to significantly expand their Medicaid programs, they are precisely the ones that will face the biggest financial strains, in many cases magnified by existing budget shortfalls," Luo writes. "In contrast, states like Massachusetts and Wisconsin, which already have extensive health care safety nets, do not expect to spend much more money, while still taking in billions in federal grants." (Read more)

UPDATE, April 2: The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute says "reform is a great bargain for Georgia," if state officials plan effectively for it.
For more information and resources, see The Rural Blog's Rural Health and Reform page or a similar page on the Web site of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.