At a meeting of the House Health and Human Services Committee, members heard a presentation on Senate Bill 88, which would create a Medicaid trust fund seeded by interest on overnight state treasury deposits, the bill presenter said.

The presenter summarized the funding mechanism and fiscal estimate: "Senate Bill 88 creates a Medicaid trust fund," and said the fiscal-impact report (FIR) shows about $279,000,000 from overnight deposits for the first year. The presenter described a roughly $300,000,000 annual deposit until the fund reaches $2,000,000,000, at which point deposits would stop and the state would begin drawing 5% of the fund balance; that 5% would be matched with federal Medicaid funds, the presenter said.

The presenter emphasized that the trust fund would not replace existing general fund Medicaid appropriations. "Absolutely not. But it certainly changes the dynamic of where the money comes from," the presenter said, and then stood for questions.

The committee recorded the presentation and the fiscal details but no formal vote or final action on Senate Bill 88 appears in the excerpt of the transcript. The meeting transcript shows the committee established a quorum and moved to consider "Senate Bill 88 as amended," then heard the bill presentation and the fiscal summary.

Background provided in the session: the funding source described by the presenter relies on interest earned overnight on funds deposited to the state treasury; the presenter said interest from those overnight deposits would be transferred into the proposed trust fund. The presenter also described a mechanism to draw 5% annually once the fund reaches the $2 billion cap and stated that the 5% draw would be eligible for federal matching dollars under Medicaid.

No additional details on committee amendments, bill sponsors, legislative scheduling, or a committee vote were recorded in the available transcript excerpt. The presenter concluded by offering to take questions from the committee.