1819news.com · September 4, 2026
'A ticking clock': Orr says federal-to-state funding ratio for Medicaid expansion likely shifting to traditional split
# 'A ticking clock': Orr says federal-to-state funding ratio for Medicaid expansion likely shifting to traditional split
Austen Shipley | 09.04.26
(Facebook/Senate Republican Caucus)
On Friday's episode of Huntsville WVNN's "The Dale Jackson Show," State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) discussed Alabama's financial obligation under its current federal-to-state Medicaid expansion funding ratio.
The lawmaker spoke specifically of a possible shift back to Alabama's traditional approximate state funding split of 70% federal and 30% state.
"The cost goes up day one with the state match, and it's several 100 million dollars to the general fund, and that's a significant amount in our state budgets to try to come up with," explained Orr. "The 90%-10% mix is still around, but you know it could go away at any time, where you revert back to the true F map, and that's the federal matching rate."
He continued, "With the states, Alabama's is about 70-30, 70% federal, 1/3, roughly, and that bounces around in that range. With the federal 43 trillion dollars in debt, there's a lot of talk that the 90-10 mix should revert. It held on for COVID, and was allowed to stay high like that-that enhanced match, and for the expansion population."
"I think it's a ticking clock, and the bells will go off soon enough, and it'll refer to that traditional match, whatever the state and federal share for the Medicaid cost," Orr added.
According to Orr, Medicaid expansion has become the Democrat Party's "Holy Grail."
"But you ask them, well, how are we going to pay for it? You want to raise taxes. What are you going to cut to pay that extra couple 100 million dollars that you're going to have to come up with?" he asked.
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