ACA/Obamacare: Fuzzy Funding -or- Here Comes The Funding Cliffs!

“Fasten your seat belts. Turbulence lies ahead for ObamaCare as funding streams for three programs are set to nose-dive.

Millions of children could lose coverage, and millions more insured via Medicaid or ObamaCare plans could have an even tougher time finding a doctor.

These funding cliffs weren't driven by policy but by politics: Provide short-term funding to get ObamaCare off the ground, then cut it off — at least on paper — to make the budget forecasts look better over 10 years


Now, with the money set to dry up next year, a push has begun to save funding for all three programs at an annual cost approaching $13 billion.

The first bumps could be felt at the start of 2015, when the Affordable Care Act's boost in funding for Medicaid primary care doctors is set to expire.

The law temporarily provided funds to lift Medicaid's reimbursement rates, putting them on par with Medicare's for 2013 and 2014 at a cost of $11 billion.”

“Access problems could intensify in September 2015. ObamaCare provided $11 billion over five years to boost the capacity of community health centers, a key source of care in low-income, medically underserved areas. Most of the money goes to clinics where reimbursements and co-pays often don't cover the cost of care.

The 2015 funding cliff would leave health centers unable to sustain current caseloads, sharply damaging primary-care access for the insured and uninsured alike and potentially leading to more costly increases in specialty, emergency and inpatient care," warned researchers at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health.”


“A third upcoming cliff would see funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, sink from $12.5 billion in fiscal 2015 to $9.1 billion the next year and $5.7 billion thereafter.” -
3 ObamaCare Funding Cliffs Imperil Coverage, Access - Investors Business Daily, 07/07/2014


Link to the entire article appears below:


http://news.investors.com/politics-obamacare/070714-707604-obamacare-funding-drop-for-medicaid-payments-clinics-chip.htm