When Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty gets ready to address the state today over its projected budget cuts, the damage to healthcare delivery may be the headline maker of the day. Chief among the affected arenas include many local systems — such as county and municipal services (a fact felt by the single most important care provider to poverty-stricken and working poor patients in Minnesota’s most populous county). However, there is much discussion on how the governor’s plan to cut state healthcare expenditures will affect the largest guarantor of coverage in the state — Medicaid.

Not only does the annual expenditure attributed to Medicaid represent about 20 per cent of the state’s annual budget, but cuts to this agency will also come with a dollar-for-dollar decrease in what the state can reap from federal funds, increasing the pain low-income and dually-eligible elderly patients will feel with respect to affordable access to healthcare. Free clinics, nursing homes, and the General Assistance funds will all be affected. It’s hard to see how Medicaid-financed healthcare here in Minnesota will only be affected minimally. Passionate debate over the next legislative session is guaranteed. | LINK

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