In recent years, Texas Medicaid spending has doubled, on the average, every six to seven years, an eightfold increase in less than 20 years. At this explosive rate of unprecedented growth, the present $17 billion annual Texas Medicaid budget will exceed $136 billion annually – more than one-quarter of a trillion dollars ($272 billion) a biennium in less than 20 years. That amount is more than double the state’s budget today.