Making Sure The States Don't Pay (Too Much) For Reform | The New Republic

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By Suzy Khimm

The House is still deliberating between two versions of the public option, as Cohn laid out earlier: a stronger version that would tie public option pay rates to Medicare “plus 5” percentage points, and a weaker version that would have negotiated rates, but also separately raise Medicaid eligibility from 133% to 150% percent above the poverty line to save money. (It’d be cheaper to cover Medicaid patients than in the public plan.)

One question I have about the negotiated-rate compromise-- how will the House make sure that state governments don’t end up having to pay more for the broadened Medicaid expansion if more people are eligible? Without an additional change, federal government would end up saving money in part by shifting the burden to states.
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