What is the Actual State Cost of MassHealth?
This year, the
MassHealth program (the name for Massachusetts' Medicaid program) will
provide health insurance for 1.9 million residents: children in
low-income households; low-wage workers; elders in nursing homes; people
with disabilities; and others with very low incomes who cannot afford
insurance. This is more than one-quarter of the Commonwealth's
population, including close to one-half of all children. Not
surprisingly, such a significant program represents a large share of the
state's budget. But how much?
MassBudget's new fact sheet, "
What is the Actual State Cost of Mass Health in 2018?,"
explains that since Medicaid is a partnership between state and federal
governments, much of this essential health care coverage is actually
paid for by the federal government. The Governor's proposed Fiscal Year
(FY) 2018 budget includes approximately $16.6 billion for MassHealth.
This total (or "gross" amount) is approximately 37 percent of total
state budget appropriations. The federal government then reimburses
Massachusetts for more than half of this spending. After receiving these
reimbursements, the state's net cost for MassHealth is $8.0 billion, 24
percent of the total net budget.
To read the full MassBudget fact sheet on the actual cost of MassHealth, click here (
LINK).
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