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State seeks court's help to keep Medicaid funds

 
By Josh Rabe | Published: March 4, 2008    Comment on this article Leave a comment

Oklahoma has joined three other states in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over budget cuts that took effect Monday.

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Why were the funds cut?
Medicaid officials said the cuts were made to comply with a 2005 deficit reduction act. Their goal is to eliminate $1.28 billion in spending by 2013.

The program in question, known as "targeted case management,” has been available since the mid-1980s to help people get medical, educational and other necessary social services. However, Medicaid officials argue states are now relying too much on federal dollars to fund social services not directly tied to Medicaid, including staff positions necessary to operate state-level social service agencies.

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Maine, Maryland and New Jersey filed the lawsuit Friday in Washington, alleging the agency that runs Medicaid overstepped its bounds by passing an emergency rule in December that stripped tens of millions of dollars in appropriations for each state.

Oklahoma stands to lose at least $37 million under the new Medicaid rule. The rule narrows a field of state employees paid by Medicaid to connect troubled youths and the developmentally disabled with appropriate social services.

Several state agencies publicly opposed the new rule, but their objections weren't enough to prevent the rule from taking effect.

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