Budget woes prompt health cuts in some states

The Salt Lake Tribune: "Utah's Medicaid program isn't providing enough oversight of its managed care plans, a problem that is costing the state as much as $19 million, according to a Legislative audit released Tuesday" (Rosetta, 1/19).

Lexington Herald-Leader: "Facing exploding growth in the government-run health insurance program for the poor and disabled, Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed budget calls for spending an additional $782 million on Medicaid over the next two years." However, Beshear is also calling for $108 million in cuts to the program over two years, and 2-percent nearly-across the board cuts to Cabinet for Health and Family Services programs (Spears, 1/20).

The Burlington Free Press: "Gov. Jim Douglas said Tuesday it would take $53 million in spending changes to human service programs affecting the elderly, children and the poor to close the gap between available revenues and expenditures next year" (Remsen, 1/20).

The (Elmira, N.Y.,) Star-Gazette: "Among the major provisions of [Gov. David] Paterson's spending plan is a $1 billion reduction in state Medicaid spending. Paterson would achieve most of that savings by cutting Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes" (Murray, 1/19).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.