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Medicaid expansion carries the additional cost of administrative expenses, according to state Medicaid directors. They gathered this week to discuss ways to deal with a proposed expansion of the Medicaidprogram under healthcare reform legislation.

Both the House and Senate versions of healthcare reformcontain mandated expansions of state Medicaid programs that would add millionsof enrollees across the country. One major and often overlooked cost of theexpansion would be the administrative expenses that come with coordinating suchan expansion, the Medicaid directors said. Morepersonnel and new technology would be needed to coordinate the expansion, theysay. State lawmakers, who already are grappling with budgetproblems, largely have been worried about the cost of providingcare to these new beneficiaries. States have been asking the federal governmentto extend enhanced Medicaid funding provided by the American Reinvestment andRecovery Act until revenues recover.

The Medicaid directors also discussed ways to coordinatethe program with the new health insurance exchange being proposed in Congress.The 2009 fall conference of the National Association of State MedicaidDirectors wrapped up Wednesday. More info about the NASMD fall conference canbe found at www.nasmd.org.