INDIANAPOLIS A nearly billion-dollar shortfall in the Medicaid budget at the end of 2023 has had lawmakers and people who get their medical care through the state asking questions. The Family and Social Services Administration says they have found solutions to ensure their budget is balanced."I hear a lot about a mistake, a budget shortfall, and about Hoosiers, Darolyn Jones, an attendant caregiver, said. I would have liked to have heard about these families who are the ones losing out."Jones cares for her 21-year-old son full-time. He has cerebral palsy and is autistic. Her attendant care hours were cut in half earlier this year when FSSA changed the program to remedy its budget shortfall. On Tuesday, the agency said those changes saved them around $86 million."A two-year budget of $45 billion, to me, that's dust, that's not a whole lot, State Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) said.The agency says it didn't catch the shortfall sooner due to a lack of data. Now, it gets the data more quickly and can catch increases sooner. The data includes how many people have been approved for services, as well as what those services cost, among other things."For the purposes of this forecast, the data from October 31 of this year has been incorporated in our projections, Cora Steinmetz, the Medicaid Director for Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said.Another reason FSSA said the budget was short is that more people are enrolling for Medicaid. Wait lists are a big driver for why the agency has saved money, but lawmakers are still cautious about how it will impact the budget moving forward."We have to be very careful, State Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka) said. Every change we make that is going to affect K-12 all that. If we want to give K-12 more, we have to be careful with Medicaid."Non-profits like the United Way of Indiana say they could feel the pinch, especially as medical debt could increase if fewer people have access to the care they need."We are really concerned about the impact of the revenues on the ability of the state to provide services across the whole spectrum of social services," Sam Snideman, VP of Government Relations at United Way of Central Indiana, said.The 2025 legislative session is a budget session and will be the first one overseen by Governor-elect Mike Braun. It begins on January 8. To read the forecast, click here.