Senate Finance hears House Bill 5,076 with focus on Medicaid funding, hospital payments and system changes

The Senate Committee on Finance took up House Bill 5,076 on March 20, 2025, a measure that contains the governor's FY2026 budget for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and accompanying Medicaid-related statutory changes. Brian Daniels, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Richard Sharas, secretary of EOHHS, led the administration's presentation to the committee and outlined proposals to control Medicaid expenditure growth while maintaining targeted investments.

The administration told the committee it expects state revenues to grow more slowly than expenditures over the five‑year forecast and that Medicaid and related grants and benefits are a major driver of cost growth. "Medicaid does represent the lion's share of that spending," Brian Daniels said, adding that the program is an entitlement and therefore difficult to reduce without changing eligibility or benefits.

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