Cuts may be ahead for TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, according to the Wall Street Journal Health Blog. In attempts to offset the cuts to TennCare, Tennessee hospitals may ask to pay higher taxes on hospital revenues, though the rate right now is unclear. The WSJ blog forsees cuts at the federal levl, if Medicaid cuts on the state level persist.

The hospital tax, according to Tennnesean.com, expired in 1994, when TennCare was created. Though these cuts would save the state approximately $380 million, they would really be costing Tennessee as much as three times more in federal aid. Hospitals have estimated around $526 million in state and federal funding this year and according to Craig Becker, the president of the Tennessee Hospital Association, some state services and hospitals will disappear, which is why the new tax is being proposed.

Tennessee is not the only state facing Medicaid costs. According to the Virginian-Pilot, rising health care costs and a growth in the number of Medicaid patients have increased the government’s obligation to pay over $750 million within the past two years. New Hampshire and Wisconsin as well may see state-level Medicaid cuts, according to a post in KaiserHealthnews.org.

WellCare was accused for falsely inflating expenditure information submitted to Florida Medicaid between 2002 and 2006. Money that was supposed to be used to provide medical services for Florida health care programs, WellCare kept for itself.

The U.S. Attorney’s office and WellCare Health Plans Inc. came to an agreement this year in order for WellCare to avoid fraud conviction. WellCare agreed to pay $80 million; $40 million in restitution to Florida agencies and $40 million in civil forfeiture. WellCare also accepts full responsibility for their actions, agreed to pay an independent monitor to review its operations, and agreed to fully cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation.

WellCare has already paid $35.2 million, agrees to pay another $25 million by Sunday, and the remaining $19.8 million by the end of the year. As long as WellCare complies with all health care laws and regulations, the agreement can be cut down to two years from three.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hopes that this agreement will serve as a warning to all committing or thinking of committing Medicaid fraud.

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