Medicaid Reform Commission Hears Costs Must be Contained

State lawmakers are told Medicaid will bankrupt the state if changes aren’t made. The Medicaid Reform Commission has been told by a University of Missouri-St. Louis economics professor that one segment of the Medicaid population is causing its rapid growth: the elderly. Professor Susan Feigenbaum tells Commission members the elderly and disabled make up only about a third of the Medicaid population, but consume about two-thirds of the Medicaid dollars. Feigenbaum says nursing homes live off Medicaid dollars, with Medicaid accounting for half of all nursing home revenues. Two-thirds of the nursing home residents receive Medicaid benefits. The Commission takes testimony today as it studies Medicaid in an effort to suggest reform to the Legislature.