Rhode Island’s greatest budget challenge? Managing Medicaid spending growth

No state program poses a greater fiscal challenge to Rhode Island than its Medicaid program, which provides indispensable health care services to over one in three Rhode Islanders, including our most vulnerable populations: low-income individuals and children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Even with the federal government covering more than half the cost, Medicaid is still the largest single source of state spending, accounting for roughly one-third of Rhode Island’s state budget.