Options for Federal Funding for State Costs under Health Care Reform

摘要

The objective of this report is to highlight distributional inequities inherentin the current Medicaid program as well as estimate the magnitude of the redistribution of funds and payment requirements that would result from the implementation of a number of different types of reform. First, the report analyzes the case where the Medicaid program is maintained in its current matching program structure, but the formula is modified to correct inequities in the current formula. Second, the report addresses Medicaid's disproportionate share hospitals program. Finally, the report examines the state financing implications of full or partial integration into a broad based national health care reform. The issues discussed in this work are also relevant for any discussion of block grant or swap proposals.