Health Affairs Blog: Can States Substantially Reduce Medicaid Spending Through Delivery System And Financing Reform?

In a Health Affairs blog post,  Joshua M. Wiener and Melissa Romaire of RTI International and MaryBeth Musumeci of the Kaiser Family Foundation examine whether states could successfully cope with substantial reductions in federal Medicaid funding under a per capita cap or block grant system by improving efficiency in the way both acute and long-term care are delivered and paid for under the program. A review of the evidence in literature suggests that large Medicaid savings are unlikely through these approaches, they write, which means states would need to consider other cost-saving options such as reductions in Medicaid eligibility, covered services and provider reimbursements. The blog post draws upon an earlier Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief, Strategies to Reduce Medicaid Spending: Findings from a Literature Review.