The article discusses how the implementation of new federal healthcare regulations, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), is imposing significant costs on states to modify their Medicaid and SNAP eligibility systems. The OBBA mandates various changes including work requirements for Medicaid recipients and restrictions on food aid eligibility.
Key points:
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Many states use private contractors to manage their Medicaid/SNAP eligibility determination systems. These companies are now billing states millions of dollars to implement the new federal rules.
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Deloitte is a major player in this market, dominating contracts across multiple states to modify eligibility systems at great cost. Other firms like Accenture and Conduent also have large state contracts.
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The costs for implementing these changes are substantial - ranging from $7 million to over $20 million per state in some cases.
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Yet cutting people off Medicaid/SNAP through the new rules will save far less money than what states are spending on implementation. For example, Iowa estimates it could cut 32,000 residents from Medicaid at a cost savings of $183 million/year, while implementation costs over $20 million.
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Critics argue that spending tens of millions to remove people from coverage does not benefit those losing benefits or the overall
Read the full article at KFF Health News
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