Did you know?
- Medicaid spending consumes more than 20% of Colorado’s annual General Fund budget
- Colorado’s Medicaid enrollment is just shy of 600,000
- Colorado’s Medicaid enrollment is projected to grow 44% by 2014 if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is fully implemented
- From FY2011-12 to FY2024-25, Medicaid expenses are expected to grow by $2.5 billion dollars and will consume over 27% of the Colorado General Fund1
- Nationally, states will increase Medicaid spending by $15.9 billion in 2012 and at the same time they will reduce spending on K-12 education by $2.5 billion
MEDICAID: What other states are doing…
Rhode Island
- Received a Global waiver from the federal government in 2008 that was structured similar to a block grant
- Key reforms:
- Eliminated the “any-willing provider” rule
- Replaced with competitive bidding
- Greater focus on preventative care, especially for seniors
- Reforms saved the state $1.2 billion in the first two years
Florida
- Implemented a pilot plan shifting Medicaid program into a managed care model
- Under new model, state purchases health care plans from private managed care providers
- Savings came from:
- Greater coordination of patient care
- Eliminating unnecessary office visits and treatments
- Greater oversight of charges
Illinois
- Requires Medicaid bills to be paid earlier and requires a full month of pay stubs, rather than a single pay stub for those seeking enrollment
- The state saved over $600 million over five years by enacting these simple changes
- “Financing Colorado’s Future, An Analysis of the Fiscal Sustainability of State Government,” University of Denver Center for Colorado’s Economic Future. April 2011.
Common Sense Policy Roundtable is a non-profit free-enterprise think tank dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy. CSPR actively follows tax and budget related legislation and initiatives.