Nevada received good news Wednesday as the U.S. Senate cleared the way for a final vote to extend expanded Medicaid funding included in the state's budget.
The first effort to extend that funding died in the Senate earlier this summer. Without that money, Director of Administration Andrew Clinger said, Nevada would have an additional $88.5 million hole in its Medicaid budget - further aggravating an already massive shortfall faced by the state.
Nevada would be on the hook for that money because federal law doesn't allow the state to cut back Medicaid benefits or provider payment rates.
"To tell the truth, I had about given up on it," said Clinger. "It's very good news."
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Wednesday the Senate has now overcome procedural hurdles blocking a final vote to pass the extension.
He predicted it will pass and, once signed into law, he said Nevada will get about
$79 million
to keep its Medicaid program in business.
The stimulus package greatly increased the federal matching percentage for Medicaid in Nevada from just 50 percent to more than 65 percent. Program administrators said that money came at just the right time because, with the recession, many more Nevadans were qualifying for Medicaid. According to Reid's office, more than 160,000 Nevadans now receive Medicaid funds.
The legislation also includes good news for schools in Nevada and other states, extending stimulus funding designed to keep more teachers in the classroom.
Reid's office said that means about $83 million for Nevada schools, but Superintendent of Education Keith Rheault said he doesn't know enough details to determine what the impact of that section of the law will be.
"We won't know until we see the details," he said.
Rheault said the final vote also will come after school opens in just two or three weeks and may not be able to be used effectively this school year.
He, like Clinger, said he had given up on getting the stimulus education funding extended so Reid's Wednesday announcement was a pleasant surprise.
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, the Senate legislation drew enough support - 61-38 - to cut off debate and move to final passage in part because it is fully paid for. The Medicaid and education funding are paid for by closing a foreign tax credit and rescinding funds for several other existing programs.
Nevada's Medicaid program is budgeted for about $2.9 billion this biennium, $870 million of that state money. The extended funding was included in that budget by the February special session of the Legislature and, if it doesn't materialize, the state will have to make up the shortfall.