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Impact of The Medicaid Budget Crisis on Rural Communities: A 50-State Survey
Most states are facing severe budget crises, forcing them to reduce Medicaid program costs. States have many different options to reduce Medicaid expenditures, including cutting optional eligibles or optional services, reducing provider payments and increasing recipient cost sharing. Many of the states' actions to reduce Medicaid program costs may have a differential impact in rural areas.
In an attempt to ascertain the impact of Medicaid cuts on rural recipients and providers, project staff conducted a 50-state survey of state Medicaid agencies, offices of rural health and rural health associations. The organizations were surveyed on topics such as specific options states have taken to reduce Medicaid expenditures, whether provider participation in Medicaid has changed over the last three years, changes in eligibles, and potential interest states have in recent proposals to block-grant the Medicaid program. The study findings will be presented in a short policy brief and a paper submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
Publications
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Impact of Medicaid Cuts on Rural Communities
Author(s): Pam Silberman, Matt Rudolf, Laura Brogan, Stephanie Poley, Rebecca Slifkin, Charity Moore
Report Number: Working Paper No. 82
Date: 08 / 2005
Medicaid is a critical program in both urban and rural areas, but it is particularly important in rural areas because of high levels of poverty and less access to employer-sponsored insurance. This study assesses the perception of state Medicaid staff and individuals from State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) and Rural Health Associations (RHA) regarding the impact on rural areas of state Medicaid policy changes that occurred between 2002 and 2004. Despite the importance of this program to rural communities, our study suggests that few people are specifically concerned with the unique challenges Medicaid changes may pose to rural communities. This study presents insight to the potential rural impact of Medicaid policy changes, especially those that could adversely affect the ability of rural residents to access services or that might potentially affect the overall rural health infrastructure.
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