PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island's welfare and Medicaid costs for this and the coming budget year are on track to decrease from November projections, state officials said Monday .
Medicaid, the state's healthcare program for the poor and low income, is tracking a surplus of about $28 million in the year ending June 30 and a slight increase in spending in the following year, according to data from the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Welfare, officially Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, is projecting a $1.5 million spending decrease this year and an estimated $3.5 million decline in the coming year, according to the state Department of Human Services.
The new estimates were released Monday morning, the start of a Revenue and Caseload Estimating Conference.