close-up of $100 bills

As a coronavirus-caused recession continues to take hold, state and local governments are being forced to cut back support to schools, health programs and other support services, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The implication for senior living and care operators: Medicaid and other funding support might get squeezed.

Complicating matters is uncertainty over the economic outlook, which depends largely on unknowns such as the course of the virus and how quickly a vaccine can be developed. Experts are warning that many state budgets may have to be trimmed down in the months ahead.

“I don’t think you can overstate the amount of uncertainty that states are dealing with,” said Tracy Gordon, an expert on state and local budgets at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., told the paper.

There is also mounting  uncertainty on whether Congress will lend a hand. The National Governors Association claims that states could use $500 billion in federal support to compensate for lost revenue. The U.S. Conference of Mayors says cities need about half that amount, the report noted.