Pending approval from Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R), $15 million of settlement funds would be funneled straight to Medicaid this year and another $105 million in 2018. In total, the state plans to allocate $700 million to Medicaid next year.
Even with the settlement, the state’s Medicaid agency — which covers 1 million Alabama residents — said it is receiving $85 million less than it needs for 2017. As a result, Alabama’s Medicaid has cut physician reimbursements.
Some state senators, including Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), asked for Medicaid to receive more oil spill funds. Sen. Orr said the Medicaid program may request $865 million in state funding in 2018, which is about $165 million over the program’s current request, according to the report.
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