1. Medicare is funded 100% by the federal government. The states have no role in funding Medicare.

2. The program in question in your post is Medicaid, a federal-state program in which the federal government and state governments share the cost of medical assistance.

3. The federal share of the Medicaid partnership varies from state to state. Connecticut’s federal/state sharing formula is 50/50. A full list of the sharing percentages state-by-state can be found at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/fmap10.htm. At present, the highest federal share seems to be Mississippi, where the federal government pays a bit over 75% of Medicaid payments.

4. If Ben Nelson has succeeded in getting Nebraska’s Medicaid program funded at 100% by the federal government (I haven’t read the bill, so I can’t verify that this is in fact the case, but I will take your word for it), then it will of course be the highest (possible) federal share for a state Medicaid program. But it is important to note that there are _already_ (for a variety reasons, no doubt) significant differences state by state in federal/state cost divisions.

5. My guess is that, if Nebraska gets 100% federal funding for Medicaid, other states will work like crazy to get the same deal. Gov. Rell’s comments may be an opening shot in that effort. Interestingly enough, a complete federal takeover of Medicaid financing would probably be the most significant and efficient form of financial assistance that the federal government could give to the states. As noted in the post, even at a 50/50 rate, this would be a significant benefit to the State of Connecticut, by eliminating one of the largest line items in the state budget.

/wonkery