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Medicaid and fiscal federalism during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Clemens Jeffrey,
Ippolito Benedic,
Veuger Stan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
public budgeting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.694
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1540-5850
pISSN - 0275-1100
DOI - 10.1111/pbaf.12287
Subject(s) - medicaid , covid-19 , pandemic , government (linguistics) , federalism , state (computer science) , matching (statistics) , state government , fiscal federalism , business , economics , public economics , political science , public administration , health care , local government , economic growth , medicine , law , virology , philosophy , algorithm , decentralization , linguistics , pathology , computer science , market economy , disease , politics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak
We analyze the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on state and local government finances, with an emphasis on health spending needs and the role of the Medicaid program. We first find that enhanced federal matching funds are roughly the same size as expected increases in state Medicaid costs nationwide over the entirety of the federal budget window. Second, we show that there is substantial variation in states' exposure to increases in Medicaid program costs. Third, we show that the formulas through which fiscal relief has been distributed impact the extent to which aid targets the states experiencing the greatest need.