The seven members of the Georgia Republican delegation issued the following statements today after sending the Speaker of the House a letter expressing concerns about a proposed expansion of Medicaid, as part of a government takeover of health care. In the letter, the G-7 state, “Georgia has estimated that the cost of the House and Senate passed unfunded mandates, for just new enrollees, would cost a staggering $2.64 billion under the House version… Georgia currently cannot afford the cost of expanding Medicaid under the House and Senate bills. Due to the crippled economy, Georgia is facing significant budget problems and has been forced to make cuts to current services including K-12 education, public assistance, corrections, transportation and others.”

The full letter can be found below.

“In their rush to pass incredibly flawed health care legislation, Washington Democrats are threatening every State in the Union with even more unfunded mandates,” said Rep. Tom Price (GA-6). “Every state, that is, except for those whose elected officials cut backroom deals. Reforming health care should mean lower costs and greater access, quality, and control for patients across this land. It shouldn’t mean even larger budget deficits for Georgia’s already over-burdened taxpayers but special deals for others. This proposed Medicaid expansion is the wrong way to reform health care and a sure way to increase Georgians’ taxes.”

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House

Office of the Speaker

H-232, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

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The Honorable John A. Boehner

House Republican Leader

Office of the Republican Leader

H-204, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

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The Honorable Steny Hoyer

House Majority Leader

Office of the House Majority Leader

H-107, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi, House Majority Leader Hoyer, and House Republican Leader Boehner:

We are very concerned about the potential difficulty states may encounter as a result of health care legislation. Any final health care bill negotiated between the House of Representatives and the Senate should not result in inequitable treatment or unfunded mandates on the state of Georgia.

As you are aware, both the House and Senate bills expand coverage under Medicaid expansion to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and 133% FPL, respectively. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, such a mandate in which states would be forced to pick up part of the funds for newly eligible individuals would cost $34 billion in the House bill and $26 billion in the Senate bill.

Georgia has estimated that the cost of the House and Senate passed unfunded mandates, for just new enrollees, would cost a staggering $2.64 billion under the House version (not including the Stimulus extension or a Primary Care Reimbursement increase) and anywhere from $1.54 billion to $1.79 billion under the Senate version.

This raises many concerns since Georgia currently cannot afford the cost of expanding Medicaid under the House and Senate bills. Due to the crippled economy, Georgia is facing significant budget problems and has been forced to make cuts to current services including K-12 education, public assistance, corrections, transportation and others.

Georgia is not alone in its concerns about being able to pay for this unfunded mandate. On October 21, 2009, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) wrote the House and Senate Leadership stating:

NCSL's paramount priority regarding national health reform is the legislation's treatment of Medicaid and we oppose unconditionally any provisions related to Medicaid that would shift costs to states. We urge you in the strongest possible terms to provide full funding for new mandatory eligibility categories, services and increases for reimbursement. We support 100 percent federal matching payments for Medicaid expansions. A lesser commitment from the federal government would shift billions of costs to states and would have serious short and long-term consequences for state budgets.

Under the Senate bill, however, it appears that only a handful of states including Nebraska, Louisiana, Vermont and Massachusetts, are going to receive special treatment through additional federal Medicaid funds, leaving the remaining 46 states on the hook to pick up the full tab. We urge you to remove any special deals and unfunded mandates from the final bill language.

Thank you for your consideration of our request.