States levy taxes on hospitals to cover Medicaid expansion costs

Modern Healthcare: States are beginning to turn to hospitals to cover the cost of Medicaid expansion once the federal match begins to drop next year.

The Affordable Care Act provides 100% federal financing for those made newly eligible for Medicaid under the law. The federal match rate falls to 95% in 2017, 94% in 2018, 93% in 2019, and then 90% in 2020 and beyond.

State Medicaid spending is projected to jump to 4.4% in 2017 compared to 2.9% in 2016, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Total Medicaid spending was $509 billion last year, up from $495 billion in 2014.

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