REPORT: Percentage of Medicaid Spending on HCBS Increasing

In 2010, 45 percent of Medicaid spending went toward home- and community-based services (HCBS), according to a report (pdf) by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

In 1995, just 20 percent of Medicaid dollars were devoted to HCBS, the report notes.

The report provides a broad overview of Medicaid HCBS spending both in the U.S. as a whole and by state.

For example, annual spending on Medicaid HCBS per person served averages $15,371, but some states spent well above or below that mark. Illinois spent just $5,232 per person served in 2009, while Tennessee spent $35,378.

The report states that further attention will have to be paid to states’ Medicaid HCBS spending as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to take effect.

“As the ACA continues to be implemented across states, it will be important to monitor states’ adoption of policies to expand HCBS, differences in services and spending across states, and the impact of cost control policies on access and quality,” the report says.

— by Matthew Ozga