U.S. governors balk at Medicaid expansion

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Cash-strapped U.S. governors are moving to curtail a vast expansion of state Medicaid programs included in several healthcare reform measures, analysts say.

They have already succeeded in altering the Senate Finance healthcare bill, which now includes billions of dollars in additional funding after governors objected to the original, smaller proposal, The Washington Post reported.

States already facing severe budget deficits would see up to 11 million low-income residents signing up for Medicaid under the new rules, the Congressional Budget Office estimates, many of whom would be single adults and parents long without insurance, the newspaper said.

"States are already at a breaking point, and so they should be thankful that this bill is only going to cost them an additional $30 billion," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Finance Committee colleagues. But, he added, "We are deluding ourselves, though, if we think that we are going to do anything in this bill to make Medicaid a better program for the people it serves."

Even so, the Post said many healthcare experts still view Medicaid as the most practical way to insure the poorest Americans, who account for about half of the uninsured population.