In a joint statement yesterday, House and Senate leaders announced a special session to begin June 1st and conclude June 20th. They are divided on the issue of Medicaid funding from the federal government.
Lawmakers must return to the state capital to finish the budget by June 30 and, integral to that decision, is addressing the question of how much federal government the state can expect to get to provide hospital compensation for charity care under the Low Income Pool program.
Disagreement over how to handle that money, which the federal government is phasing out, led to the stalemate. The Senate leaders want to expand Medicaid and draw down federal money to compenstate for the loss of LIP money in the future. The House leadership refuses to expand Medicaid and prefers to rely on the LIP money for another year.
The special session dates are “tentatively scheduled” and its scope is still to be decided. Stay tuned….
