The U.S. Senate is the target of criticism of budgetary concerns on the left and on the right, as the weekend before most states’ new fiscal years begin. At issue is the stalled bill on unemployment benefits and extensions, which was the outcome of hours of debate and an ultimate (mostly) party line vote to block future consideration. States’ Medicaid packages were to figure in heavily, as many government-run healthcare programs were in dire need of funding in the face of the alternative — severe budget cuts in not only the state level, but also the local and municipal levels. Governors on both sides of the ideological aisle decried the Senate’s rejection of aid to their states in the form of another six months of Medicaid assistance. (Here in Minnesota, our governor has already rejected the earmark of funds as part of the balanced budget for this biennium.)

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Making the situation more difficult for states, the recent passage of the federal health care overhaul bars them from rolling back eligibility on Medicaid, so the cuts would have to come from elsewhere in their budgets — and would likely include layoffs from different parts of the state governments, many of which have already seen big cuts — or by slashing things like payments to Medicaid providers.

Will governors have to go to Washington to lobby for the inclusion of this provision in this latest legislative battle? Unless the bill is revived next week in the House in an effort to address this critical setback, the issue of Medicaid financing will suddenly become much more complicated than it usually is this time of year. After all, state budgets have to be balanced. | LINK

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