Medicaid Tax Maneuver: States Game Federal Funding | JQJO

In 1989, facing a budget crisis, New Hampshire pioneered a Medicaid provider tax, a maneuver that inflated Medicaid spending to draw more federal funds. This 'gaming' of the system, as former Governor Judd Gregg called it, has become widespread. Now, nearly every US state uses similar taxes, with some receiving over one-third of their Medicaid funding this way, highlighting a significant reliance on this method for financing the program covering 72 million Americans.