Article archive / March 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 3. Source pages: 5.
State Lost 3 Billion Fed $ Says Governor Edwards
By failing to expand Medicaid under the previous administration, Louisiana lost over $3 billion in federal health care funds, Governor Edwards wrote, in his Executive Order to expand Medicaid published in the February Louisiana Register. He said that with this Medicaid expansion, Louisiana could realize additional State General Fund savings of nearly $100 million through FY2020.
The Executive Order explains that the increased Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP, under Medicaid expansion requires the federal government to provide 100 percent of the funding for new enrollees through 2016, 95 percent in 2017, 94 percent in 2018, 93 percent in 2019, and 90 percent thereafter. Opponents to expansion said that the expansion will eventually be too expensive and cause other problems. The expansion helps cover those in the gap between Medicaid and federal ACA support.
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