Deficit Reduction Act and State Administration of the Medicaid Program

Julia Belian (Visiting Associate Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law) has recently published her article entitled State Implementation of the Optional Provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act, 9 Marq. Elder’s Advisor 63 (2007).

Here are excerpts from the conclusion to her article:

The Deficit Reduction Act is a complex piece of legislation that modifies an already complex federal law. It offers a myriad of complex options to states that were already operating widely divergent versions of the Medicaid program.***

Increasing health care costs force consumers to face difficult choices, and the government likewise feels the strain of rising costs. Whether Medicaid was “working” before the DRA became law is irrelevant because, regardless of the ability to get health care to those in need, the costs had reached the point of crippling state budgets. Post-DRA Medicaid is not inherently more complex than pre-DRA Medicaid. States can still choose to adopt different approaches to the various problems they face, all in the hopes of improving health care delivery and reducing health care costs. However, the new state options under the DRA do seem to change the landscape in key ways.***