An article in the Wall Street Journal today, “Governors Scramble To Rein in Medicaid,” talks about the concerns both Republican and Democratic governors (including our own) have regarding rising Medicaid costs–especially given widespread budget problems:

About eight million Americans joined the Medicaid rolls between 2007 and 2010, many because they lost jobs. The federal government picks up 57% of states’ Medicaid tab, on average. But in July, $26 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding will expire, leaving states to plug a big budget hole.

At issue is a provision in the health-overhaul law enacted in 2010 that says states can’t limit Medicaid eligibility or else they’ll lose federal funding.

As a result, every one of the country’s 29 Republican governors has asked the federal government to waive the requirement, with New Jersey penciling a waiver into its budget. Some states with Democratic governors, including Washington, are also quietly pressing for the change.

“We’re asking for cooperation…so that we can work our way through what is a very challenging time for us,” Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire said at a meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington this weekend, where curbing Medicaid costs was a top issue.

Also:

The state of Washington wants flexibility in the rates its pays health-care providers that treat Medicaid patients, the services it offers and its eligibility requirements.

“In our state, the least attractive of those tools is to just cut people off the program,” said Jonathan Seib, a health-policy adviser to Gov. Gregoire, who is chairwoman of the National Governors Association. “But it’s an authority we’d like to have in order to manage our budget.”

Such flexibility is one of the main recommendations we made in our Thrive Washington health care paper.  Indeed, medical assistance (the largest of the programs funded by Medicaid) spending in Washington state has increased 113 percent since 1997-99.  The onset of federal health care reform and its eligiblity maintenance provisions will only exacerbate the problem.