February 1, 2012 3:14 PM

SUEHS: MEDICAID PROGRAM NEEDS $15B-$17B NEXT SESSION

The shortfall stems from lawmakers' decision to underfund the program this year as well as normal levels of caseload growth

The state Medicaid program will need about $15 billion to $17 billion in additional general revenue next legislative session, HHS executive commissioner Tom Suehs told a conference of hospital administrators today.

That multi-billion dollar bill to sustain the Medicaid program – one of the state’s biggest cost drivers – will drop on lawmakers’ desks next January at the same time that demand for services elsewhere in the state budget continues to increase.

Suehs told the Texas Hospital Association that his message isn’t all that different from the one he sent two years ago. “I basically said something to the effect, ‘I don’t see how the Legislature’s gonna get out of this session without some form of revenue.’ I got in trouble for that,” Suehs said. “And I’m going to say the same thing today. I think I have a little bit more data with me today.”

By John Reynolds