Colorado’s Budget Hole Is Now $1.2 Billion, as Medicaid Costs Continue to Climb – HotAir

Colorado’s looming budget shortfall just keeps getting worse.

In a letter to the Joint Budget Committee this week, state officials said Colorado will need to spend an additional $73 million on Medicaid this budget year, which ends June 30, as demand for health services continues to surge beyond the administration’s expectations.

Costs are expected to continue to rise next budget year, when the state now expects to spend $86 million more than previous estimates.

Add that to the latest figures provided to the Joint Budget Committee last week, and lawmakers may need to cut as much as $1.2 billion to balance next year’s budget — a 20% jump from the $1 billion hole that state budget writers thought they were facing a few months ago.