PORTLAND (AP) — A national health care analyst is questioning a study of Medicaid expansion commissioned by the LePage administration, including what she says is a miscalculation that produced a $575 million error.
Kathy Gifford of Health Management Associates reviewed the study, part of a $925,000 review of Maine’s welfare system.
Gov. Paul LePage has cited the study to recommend that lawmakers reject expansion of the state Medicaid program because it would add 124,000 recipients and increase costs by $807 million over 10 years.
Gifford told the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/19Kuq16 ) the report has several shortcomings, including that it apparently used a lower federal reimbursement rate for its calculations than cited, effectively inflating Maine’s costs. Gifford reviewed the study for AARP.
A LePage spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
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