WASHINGTON--Building on governors' earlier efforts to reform the nation's Medicaid system, the National Governors Association (NGA) today released a new paper entitled Short-Run Medicaid Reform focusing specifically on policies that could be included in the revenue and spending reconciliation bills. The paper expands on governors' recommended proposals for streamlining Medicaid and is consistent with the policy recommendations in Medicaid Reform: A Preliminary Report.

The 13-member NGA Medicaid Working Group, which began deliberating late last year, unveiled details of their preliminary report for both short-term and long-term restructuring of Medicaid during Congressional testimony June 15. Medicaid, which serves populations with the most serious and expensive health care needs, covers more than 53 million Americans and is the largest and fastest growing component of state budgets.

"These latest recommendations are part of our on-going process to find ways to reform Medicaid," said NGA chairman and co-chair of the working group Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. "They are driven by good public policy and are designed to make Medicaid more efficient and effective, not to generate any particular budget saving number."

"This paper is an effort to provide greater details of short-run solutions," said Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, co-chair of the working group. "Medicaid numbers will continue to grow even if these policies are enacted. That's why we must continue to look for long-term reforms to ensure that Medicaid is sustainable."

Governors appreciate that the Medicaid Commission, established by the Department of Health and Human Services, has adopted many of the recommendations included in this paper. Additionally, governors look forward to working with the commission to find long-run solutions to restructuring Medicaid.

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