Has the Killing Already Started, Part Two

June 7, 2009 (LPAC)—The National Governors Association's annual Fiscal Survey of the States (see above) reports that total Medicaid spending by the states is projected to decline by 1.7% in fiscal 2010, even though Federal funding is expected to increase by 5.5%. This follows the pattern in fiscal 2009 when state spending on Medicaid fell by 0.5% even though Federal funding went up by 11.5%. Of course, under the Obama plan, Medicaid, as well as Medicare, will be gutted to pay for "health care reform," exacerbating the situations faced by all of the states as unemployment continues to climb.

Here's more on state crisis situations:

* Delaware: Walgreens pharmacy chain announced on June 4 that it is cutting, by 66, the number of its pharmacies that will fill Medicaid drug prescriptions because of announced cuts in state reimbursement rates. "Quite simply, we can't continue to participate in a program that, in some cases, pays us less than our cost to fill these prescriptions," said Kermit Crawford, Walgreens senior vice president of pharmacy operations, reported Business Week.

* Massachusetts: Gov. Deval Patrick filed an updated budget proposal on June 4 that would cut nearly $800 million from the spending plan he initially filed in January 2009. The cuts include the elimination of dental care under the state's Medicaid plan which would "save" $164 million but leave 600,000 people without dental care. The revised budget estimate had to be filed because state revenues are expected to come in almost $3 billion lower for fiscal 2009 than was originally projected in July of 2008.

* New York: An appeals court ruled on June 4 that New York State owes New York City $28.6 million in Medicaid funds for home health care that the state illegally intercepted. The state took the money because, it claimed, New York City did not meet its 2003-2004 target for "saving" money in the program.

* Michigan: A Federal court in Detroit ruled on June 3 that the state illegally removed people from Michigan's Medicaid program because their children turned 18 or were no longer living at home, and the judge has ordered that benefits be restored unless people don't qualify under other categories. Michigan is warning that it'll cost $21 million to review thousands of cases and is appealing.

* Texas: A study by an Irving-based health care consulting firm finds that only 38.6% of doctors in the Dallas area accept Medicaid patients, compared to a national average of 55%, because of low reimbursement rates. The Dallas Morning News reports that many Medicaid patients are either forced to go to doctors with less specialist training than they need or skip treatment altogether. State economists say the Texas Medicaid program is underfunded by $1.2 billion, but the new two-year budget just approved by the state legislature makes few changes in the program.