Media Contact
Elizabeth Kephart
Thomson West
(651) 687-3595
elizabeth.kephart@thomson.com

For Immediate Release

EAGAN, Minn., Oct. 5, 2005 – News of the dramatic rollbacks and revamping of state Medicaid programs may have been premature in 2005, says State Medicaid Actions 2005: What the States Said, Did and Plan to Do, a report issued by the Health Policy Tracking Service (HPTS), a business of Thomson West, which is part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

Except for a handful of states, the dramatic cutbacks predicted by state governors and lawmakers in January 2005 did not occur, according to the report. On the contrary, state revenues ended substantially higher during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, giving state legislatures the necessary funding to sustain Medicaid programs. At the same time, the report notes increasing Medicaid eligibility, higher benefit levels and increased reimbursement rates that forced some states to examine future outlays and consider curtailing benefits in lieu of raising taxes.

State Medicaid Actions 2005: What the States Said, Did and Plan to Do report found that state lawmakers devoted significant attention to

• Medicaid managed care
• Asset tests and “look back” rules
• Health service expansions
• Waivers
• Pharmaceutical benefits
• Pharmaceutical cost controls
• Provider taxes
• Cost sharing (co-payments)
• Implementation of Part D of the Medicare Modernization Act

With the exception of Missouri and Tennessee, states’ actions did not approach the cuts, reductions and curtailment predicted in January. Instead

• 19 states increased reimbursement rates for health care providers, while just 4 lowered rates and 3 of them at last years levels
• 19 states expanded eligibility criteria to qualify enrollees for benefits, while 6 restricted access to medical assistance
• 29 states expanded optional benefits to Medicaid enrollees, while just 5 decreased benefits and 3 states did both.

As noted above, Missouri and Tennessee took dramatic action to rein in increasing Medicaid costs without raising general tax rates. A number of other states – Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Iowa – made changes that will affect their Medicaid enrollees, providers and delivery systems in the future. In addition, roughly seventeen states initiated studies to find ways to reform their Medicaid programs and find needed cost savings while delivering quality health care.

The report provides state policymakers with critical information as Congress considers several proposals affecting the Medicaid program in light of the affects of Hurricane Katrina. These proposals include fully reimbursing the Medicaid costs of Louisiana, Mississippi and affected counties in Alabama and evacuees in other states, relaxing eligibility rules and establishing benefits for victims under a new temporary Disaster Relief Medicaid program. In addition, Congress has delayed the Medicaid Budget Reconciliation set to save $10 billion during the next five years.

Note to editors: Interviews, detailed analysis of the report or pre-publication copies of the report are available to the media from Elizabeth Kephart at Elizabeth.Kephart@thomson.com or 651-687-3595.

About Thomson West

Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., Thomson West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market. Thomson West is a business within The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and was formed when West Publishing and Thomson Legal Publishing merged in June 1996. For more information, please visit the Thomson West Web site at west.thomson.com.

About The Thomson Corporation

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues of $8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers.  Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 40,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC