As of January, 45 states face budget shortfalls this year and next, and at least 25 of them have plans to — or already have — cut various public health services and insurance programs for low-income residents to reduce those deficits. According to a new study from Families USA, 12 states will reduce enrollment and eligibility, 20 will cut benefits, eight will increase out-of-pocket costs and 19 will reduce payments to providers.
While the economic stimulus package, which contains $87 billion in additional Medicaid funding for all states, could help, it may not be enough to offset the shortfalls as more people lose jobs and enroll in the states' Medicaid and SCHIP programs. With every 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate, an estimated 1 million people become eligible for those programs, according to the 16-page report.
View the "Critical Care: The Economic Recovery Package and Medicaid" study.