Tennessee Becomes First State To Embrace Block Grants For Medicaid Funding

Wall Street Journal

By: Stephanie Armour

Republican Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign legislation soon seeking Trump administration approval to turn federal funding for the state’s Medicaid program into a lump-sum grant. Currently, Tennessee, like other states, gets open-ended federal dollars because the government matches a percentage of state spending.

“It’s extremely foolish for a state to sign up for this,” said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “No amount of federal flexibility is worth the loss of federal dollars.” Republican Tennessee state Sen. Paul Bailey, who sponsored the legislation, said guardrails in the block grant would make sure that funding keeps up with population growth, medical inflation, and pharmaceutical costs. Getting out from under federal restrictions on Medicaid would lead to more efficient management of the program, he said.

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