There’s a great deal of discussion around how Medicaid will be impacted by the financial bail-out plan.  It looks as though Medicaid increases are on the table.

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

The House proposal provides fiscal relief through a temporary increase in the federal share of Medicaid program costs.  This is a sound strategy, and is similar to the state fiscal relief that Congress provided in 2003.  When people lose jobs and income, more of them become eligible for public health insurance programs such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).[3] But states suffering from stagnant or declining revenues cannot accommodate this need and typically take actions to limit or reduce enrollment or to limit the extent to which health services can be accessed through these programs.  In the economic downturn that occurred in the early part of this decade, 34 states cut their health care programs, and 1 million low-income people lost eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP.  Yet once Congress enacted a temporary increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate, most states were able to avert further health care cuts (including no additional state reductions in eligibility), and in some cases, were able to reverse some previously enacted cuts.[4] In the current downturn, 13 states already have cut health care programs, and deepening state fiscal problems strongly suggest more cuts in health care and other programs (especially education) are in the offing if federal assistance is not forthcoming.

Click here to read the entire article.

McKnights also has a short write-up on the subject.