Analyst: Medicaid study figures need clarification
A national health care analyst told Maine lawmakers that a state-commissioned study likely overstated the cost of expanding Medicaid by $575 million over 10 years, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The Alexander Group issued its report on Medicaid expansion last week, estimating that the expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act would cost the state more than $800 million in the first decade. Kathy Gifford, a Medicaid analyst for the Indianapolis-based Health Management Associates, told the paper her review found the Alexander Group report lowballed the expected federal reimbursement for Maine’s Medicaid program, which is currently 61.55%.
Gifford, who reviewed the Alexander Group report for the AARP, which supports Medicaid expansion, said her calculations showed the report instead used a 60% federal reimbursement rate to the state, overstating the cost by $575 million. Lawmakers are scheduled to have a hearing on the report Wednesday, which could shape discussion around the issue of Medicaid expansion, for which support has so far been split along party lines.
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