In 9 things states can do to push back against ObamaCare [HR 3590], Grace-Marie Turner writes:

Medicaid is already gobbling up resources for everything from public safety to education to transportation, and the law requires states to expand it to cover at least 16 million more people in families earning up to $30,000 a year. States have been pleading for years for more flexibility so they can gain control over spending and be freed from federal micromanagement.

States could follow the lead of Rhode Island, which was granted a waiver from the Bush Administration in January of 2009 to receive its Medicaid funding as a block grant rather than a federal match for Medicaid spending. The result: The state saved $150 million in the first 18 months. The state’s Health Secretary Gary Alexander says the savings from Medicaid were “the sole reason why Rhode Island possessed a state budget surplus in 2010.”

Read the whole article: 9 things states can do to push back against ObamaCare.

See also: “Rhode Island Global Consumer Choice Compact Medicaid Waiver: A National Model for Medicaid Reform“” (pdf)