Missouri Agreement Seen as Medicaid Model

An agreement reached with Missouri will provide the model the federal government will use in negotiations with other states about Medicaid funding. State and federal officials have reached agreement to resolve a $2 billion dispute concerning how Missouri ran its Medicaid program. Federal Medicaid Administrator Tom Scully praises the work of Missouri officials over the past 18 months to reach an agreement. Scully says he will use that agreement as he talks with officials from other states about questions the federal government has about their use of federal Medicaid dollars. States run their own Medicaid programs. In Missouri, the federal government will contribute 61-percent of the costs. Scully says Missouri officials have made the changes necessary to satisfy the questions federal officials raised about how they qualify for federal funding.