Arkansas Lowers Medicaid Shortfall Projection To $61M

CREATED Jan. 31, 2013

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  • Image by Arkansas State Police

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Medicaid officials say they're no longer proposing cuts to nursing home care and three other areas after lowering the program's expected shortfall to $61 million.

The state Department of Human Services last year had predicted a $138 million shortfall in the program. DHS on Thursday released a new estimate on the amount of cuts they'll have to make in the program for the budget year that starts July 1 to make up for a funding deficit.

The department lowered the projected shortfall after seeing the program come in under budget for the first half of the year.

The shortfall projection assumes that lawmakers approve $90 million in new general revenue funding and $140 million from the state surplus to help shore up the program's budget.