Potential Impact of Medicaid Cuts (Part 1)

With so many significant changes being proposed, some which have already occurred in the first months of the new Congress and presidential administration, a question I am increasingly being asked by clients and prospects who are or may in the future apply for Medicaid is, “will there even be Medicaid when I need it?”

It is impossible to answer this question with any certainty since we are living in very uncertain times.  Nevertheless, there is a certain level of misunderstanding about what is being considered by Washington and what is not.  It is these misconceptions that I can address.

As I always explain, Medicaid is not one single “monolithic” program.  It is a series of different programs under what I call a “Medicaid umbrella”.  Additionally, while Medicaid was created by federal law, it is administered on the state level.  The federal government assigns a sum of money to each state.  Each state also funds these programs with its own money.  

So, in order to understand the impact of any proposed changes and cuts, we need to examine which Medicaid programs may be affected and how the state that you reside in funds its programs.