Monday, March 16, 2015

Senate Republicans' Budget to Target Medicaid and Food Stamps

Potential savings of hundreds of billions of dollars; leader of Democratic caucus on budget panel vows fight
The Senate Republican budget slated for release next week is expected to generate savings by turning more responsibility for Medicaid and food-stamp programs over to states, GOP lawmakers and aides said Thursday.
While details of the document aren’t final, Republicans would propose turning funding for those programs into something similar to a block grant, said Senate Budget Committee Member Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.). That approach would call for the federal government to pay states a lump sum, instead of a percentage of the program’s costs. States would have more control over the program and would be responsible for footing the rest of the bill.
“It’s just a better way to give flexibility on the ground, where people are at,” Mr. Graham said. “The more you manage something far away, the more costly and less efficient it becomes.”
Under the current system, Medicaid programs are administered by the states, but an average of 57% of their budgets come from federal funds, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. Republicans have proposed similar moves in the past, but have encountered Democratic resistance.
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