A new analysis shows the impact that the Republican health plan bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), would have on Utah’s state budget.
The report finds that the health plan’s proposed restructuring to the Medicaid program would lead to drastic cuts in federal funding.
The analysis, released today by Voices for Utah Children, examines retrospective data and the impact of the proposed Medicaid changes, had they gone into effect a decade earlier. The estimates find that Utah would have experienced a budget gap of $649 million over the last ten years. The report concludes that given inflation and rising health care costs, Utah can expect the budget gap for the coming years to significantly exceed what it would have been in the past.
As part of the AHCA, federal funding for the Medicaid program would be capped and states would receive a per capita allotment. States would get less federal funding than under current law and would expect to see cuts increase over time. To make up for the decline in federal dollars, Utah may need to cut benefits to Medicaid enrollees. Under the per capita cap scenario, states would not have funding for unexpected health care cost growth from disease outbreaks or new life-saving drugs.
“The GOP health plan shifts costs to states and forces our state lawmakers to choose which health care services vulneable kids will—and will not—receive,” said Jessie Mandle, Senior Health Policy Analyst with Voices for Utah Children. “These are decisions health care providers should be making, not politicians.”
The AHCA changes Medicaid’s current financing structure. The state budget shortfalls that would result would lead to limits placed on the Medicaid program, such as a reduction in benefits, lower provider payments or fewer children covered. The report suggests that the proposed restructuring of the Medicaid program puts Utah children’s health care and coverage at risk.
Read the full analysis here:
Under the ACA Repeal Bill, Utah Medicaid Stands to Lose Millions over a 10-Year Period
