Between Worlds, by Bill Richardson: on Health Care

Shift Medicaid costs back from states to federal

Washington views the states cynically as a safety valve for its own chronic inability to manage our affairs. It's the worst of all possible worlds: Washington sets the terms of what must be done in certain public programs, then shifts the financial burden to the states.

The worst case in point is Medicaid. Costs are rising , yet the federal government keeps reducing its share of the funding for the program. In my new NM budget, despite federal cuts, we increased Medicaid spending by 16%. Faced with rising costs, we remained committed to providing health care to our most vulnerable citizens. We implemented cost containment measures, and these are a viable solution in the short term, but they won't work in the long term if the feds continue to increase the states' share of the costs.