Johnson questions increased Medicaid spending in eight states

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is questioning whether some states are getting more federal Medicaid dollars than they’re entitled to, driving up costs.

Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent letters Wednesday to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and governors of eight states. The letters, which come one day after Senate Republicans dropped plans to vote on a bill Johnson co-authored to replace Obamacare, seek information on Medicaid expansion, noting costs have come in higher than expected.

Johnson’s letter notes federal Medicaid costs totaled $246 billion in fiscal year 2009, hit $299 billion in 2014 and are projected to be $588 billion in 2025. He writes the Affordable Care Act expansion is a primary cause.

The Oshkosh Republican questioned if the rising costs could stem from the expansion’s reimbursement formula, which he wrote gives states an incentive to categorize people as newly eligible to obtain additional federal aid.

“I am seeking to better understand these rising costs, higher-than-expected enrollment and potential eligibility mistakes, especially in states where costs or enrollment are increasing especially quickly,” Johnson wrote to CMS.

The guvs who were sent the letters are: Jerry Brown, D-Calif.; Jim Justice, R-W.Va.; Bruce Rauner, R-Ill.; Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y.; John Kasich, R-Ohio; Christopher Sununu, R-N.H.; Rick Snyder, R-Mich.; and David Ige, D-Hawaii.

See more news about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation in today’s DC Wrap:

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