Medicaid budget to come up $75M short
Published Fri, Jun 15, 2012 07:45 PM
By Lynn Bonner - lbonner@newsobserver.com
Published in: State
[ Original News and Observer article here ]
Legislators learned this week that the Medicaid budget would show a bigger than expected shortfall this year, just weeks after they passed a law they thought would solve the problem.
Medicaid claims paid June 12 were much higher than expected, said Al Delia, state Department of Health and Human Services acting secretary, costing the state about $25 million more than anticipated. The state has to pay two more rounds of Medicaid provider claims before the fiscal year ends, leading the office to project that the Medicaid budget will come up about $75 million short. Claims were higher than expected in the previous two payment cycles as well, Delia said, but the increases were smaller. Legislators were kept apprised of the increases and were told this week of the trend, Delia said.
Medicaid is the biggest wildcard in the state budget, with costs for the government insurance for the poor and disabled routinely higher than projected. The legislature a few weeks ago passed a law to fill a $205 million Medicaid budget shortfall for this year.
Delia said health-care provider claims tend to dip at this time of year, so the increase surprised Medicaid and state budget officials. The uptick resulted from providers filing claims at a faster clip, Delia said. The bills can be covered with temporary transfers from other state accounts, he said.
“Providers will be paid,” Delia said. “Services will continue.”
State Rep. Nelson Dollar said legislators are ready to work with state administrators to solve what he called a “cash flow problem.”
“They may need to move funds from one area of the budget to another so they can pay those obligations in the current fiscal year,” said Dollar, a Cary Republican.
Legislators asked state administrators to investigate the cause of the higher claims, Dollar said, but they do not think this month’s spike in bills portends higher than anticipated costs next year.
Bonner: 919-829-482
