Report: States getting stuck with $30 billion federal tab

Over the coming decade, states would have to pick up at least $300 billion in costs for federal programs, including $45 billion if Congress approves Bush's proposal to cut federal contributions to Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for 53 million poor and disabled Americans, according to the report.
Nearly two-thirds of the additional costs to states would be in the area of K-12 education, which accounted for the largest single share of states' spending until being eclipsed by Medicaid in 2004.
More than $18 billion would be from funding gaps in two federal education programs -- Bush's signature No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a special education law that Congress reauthorized last year. NCSL says Bush's proposed budget leaves each program about $9 billion short of authorized funding levels.
States' share of prescription drug costs for "dual eligibles" -- the 7 million elderly people who are on the rolls of both Medicare and Medicaid -- account for another chunk of the cost shift. NCSL estimates states will spend $6.6 billion to help cover Medicare drug costs in 2006 alone.