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Tennessee rejects Medicaid expansion…for now

April 22, 2013 4:24PM

The Heartland Institute notes Gov. Bill Haslam’s decision to thus far reject a Medicaid expansion. The article quotes Beacon director of policy Trey Moore, who explains how this rejection does not mean Tennessee taxpayers will lose money to other states.

“The notion that money will go to other states if Tennessee refuses expansion is both a common refrain and a misconception,” Moore said.

“The amount of Medicaid dollars California, Kansas, or Kentucky receive is based on the states’ respective federal matching payment (FMAP) rate and the amount of Medicaid enrollees within each state.” FMAP is the rate at which the federal government matches state Medicaid spending, usually between 50 and 60 percent. “States stand neither to gain nor lose federal Medicaid funds relative to another state’s decision on expansion,” Moore said. “This is no less true for Tennessee.”

Read the entire article here.