Ronald Morton's Elder Law Blog

Increase in Medicaid Rolls

The Kaiser Foundation reports that Mississippi's Meicaid rolls increased by 75,000 between December 2007 and December 2009, from 521,000 to 596,000.  In a state with a population of about 3,000,000, that represents almost 1 out of ever 5 people in the state.  No word from the Govornor's office on how many of those 596,000 actually drive BMW's. 

Block Grants for Medicaid?

Governor Barbour is advocating block grants for state Medicaid programs, under the auspices that states need the freedom and flexability to design Medicaid programs around each states' unique needs.  The trouble with this proposal is that it ignores the fact that states routinely ignore the requirements of Medicaid coverage law now.  For example, Mississippi is currently disqualifying individuals for Medicaid for a couple of months for hiring a lawyer to assist with planning their estates and assisting with the Medicaid application and qualification process, despite no authority under federal law for such a position (Mississippi is alone amonth the 50 states to take such an absurd position).  The policy is a thinly veiled attempt to discourage people from recieving legal advice from competent lawyers.  The state has bragged over the past several years of cutting its Medicaid rolls through requiring in-person interviews for all Medicaid renewals.  The Medicaid rolls drop because people are unable to attend the meetings, not because they suddenly became over-resourced or became too well to need the services.  If states are given more freedom to administer block grants, one could be assured that states would take even more absurd positions outside of the restritctions of Federal law.  While I generally favor placing more autonomy over spending to the states, in the context of the poorest state in the union providing health care serivices to its poorest citizens.