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Article published Mar 4, 2004
State receives Medicaid promise
Jonathan Wegner
Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON -- State leaders and South Carolina's congressional delegation received assurances Wednesday that the state will receive $125 million for its Medicaid program this year.The delegation met with Center for Medicaid and State Operations Director Dennis Smith, who also helped allay concerns that any Medicaid funding changes would be implemented in the state's next fiscal year starting July 2004."There's not going to be an interruption of the budget process" currently under consideration in the state House, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "And there's not going to be a withholding of money this year."Graham and other members of the South Carolina delegation joined state leaders, who organized an emergency meeting on Capitol Hill, to protest potential cuts to Medicaid funding.The dispute arose due to a Bush administration initiative to cut Medicaid expenses.Medicaid administrators have increased scrutiny of payments to hospitals and "disproportionate share" funds, which seek to close gaps between government and private insurance payments at public hospitals based on the number of Medicaid patients they serve.South Carolina spent $113 million in disproportionate share funds in 2003, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services matched it with $262 million.Medicaid officials had questioned a relationship with the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and the designation of Palmetto Health Richland as a public hospital, Graham said."Every state will go through this at some point," State House Speaker David Wilkens said.South Carolina's $4.2 billion Medicaid program serves 805,000 poor, disabled and elderly South Carolinians.Gov. Mark Sanford led the state delegation, which met with Graham and Reps. Jim DeMint, John Spratt, Gresham Barrett and Joe Wilson. Aides from Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings' and Rep. Jim Clyburn's offices also joined the meeting.State representatives said they expect to receive confirmation within a week that comparable funding will be made available for the next fiscal year."I came out of this meeting very, very encouraged that they're going to allow us to have the money for the budget year July '04 – June '05," said State Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman.