Pa. Medicaid expansion up in the air

Governor Corbett says his staff did not receive answers to any of their questions during a meeting with federal officials over a possible Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania.  For the record, the answer is still no… not at this time.

 

 

Governor Corbett says he hasn’t received the information he would need to allow hundreds of thousands more Pennsylvanians to enroll in Medicaid.

The federal government has committed to front 100 percent of the costs for the first three years, but the administration views such promises with skepticism.

And Corbett’s not keen on the idea of the state’s costs going up thereafter–something he says he was able to impress upon U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  

“When I told her 27 percent of our overall basic formula or basic budget is dedicated to Medicaid, I think she was a little surprised by the size of that number.”

Democratic state lawmakers have been pressuring the governor to agree to the expansion, saying it will be an economic boon to the commonwealth.

But Corbett says the decision is being politicized in a way that distracts from the facts of the change.