CA shortchanged for Federal money
Another example of how the Federal Government is not supporting the expenses of states such as California. Not when it comes to protecting the Golden Gate bridge from terrorist attacks. Not when companies like Enron manipulate electricity prices. And not when it comes to Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. According to this San Francisco Chronicle story:
State and federal governments share the costs of the Medicaid program -- known as Medi-Cal in California -- according to a formula that relies on state per-capita income. This formula is intended to lessen the state-by-state variation in the ability to fund Medicaid. However, because the formula is flawed, it creates budget problems for the state and forces unnecessary restrictions on services or reductions in payments to health care providers. Because the formula measures the wrong thing (per capita income), it does not take into account the large numbers of people living in poverty in California and therefore, California does not receive enough money to take care of the poor people who live in this state. Wisconsin, for example, receives twice as much money per person in poverty ($7,532) than California ($3,731).