Billions in Medicaid funding at risk for Californians
By Anna Gorman, KQED-TV
California risks losing billions in health care dollars if the state and federal governments can’t agree on a plan to fund reforms of the Medicaid program, hospital officials and experts said.
Public hospitals throughout the state are counting on the $7.25 billion in state and federal funds to treat large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients. The plan, known as a Medicaid waiver, also would allow the state to continue improving the efficiency, safety and quality of its Medicaid program, called Medi-Cal.
About a third of all Californians are enrolled in Medi-Cal — 12.5 million people. The current waiver, which took effect in 2010, expires on Oct. 31, though the federal government can grant an extension while negotiations over the plan continue.