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Legislators press department on Medicaid expansion costs, FMAP shift and policy levers
Summary
Lawmakers and the department debated why Medicaid spending exceeded early projections, the effects of FMAP changes, and what policy levers the state can use to limit growth in a federally defined entitlement program.
Committee members pressed Health and Welfare officials on Feb. 26 over rising Medicaid costs tied to expansion, provider rate increases and federal matching-rate changes.
Alex Williamson, the legislative analyst, told the committee the Medicaid expansion plan — implemented beginning January 2020 — and other factors such as provider rate increases and changes to upper payment limit calculations contributed to higher-than-expected spending compared with forecasts produced before the pandemic.
"The forecasts were based on what we call the Milliman Report," Williamson said, referring to the actuarial projection legislators used in 2018. "Those numbers, like any forecast, were a best guess. None of that took into account a global…
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