Report: Calif. officials fear drop in federal healthcare funds

{mosads}But with a tight state budget and an enormous Medicaid program, the state is bracing for an unknown fiscal impact.

“As the guardian of the public purse here, I have to watch very closely what may come out of Washington,” Gov. Jerry Brown said, according to the Times. “So we’re going to move carefully. We want to make sure the federal government is on board.”

California is expecting a massive surge in its Medicaid rolls, in part from people who are already eligible, even without the program’s expansion under the ACA, but aren’t enrolled. The so-called “woodworking” effect is a major concern for state Medicaid programs nationwide, even those that aren’t participating in the federally funded Medicaid expansion.