States that have chosen not to expand their Medicaid programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will miss out on billions in new federal funds, according to a study from The Commonwealth Fund.
Under the healthcare reform law, states have the option of expanding their Medicaid programs to cover people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($15,856 for an individual and $32,499 for a family of four). The federal government will cover most of the cost of the expansion, paying 100 percent of the costs for new Medicaid enrollees through 2016. The amount of support will gradually decrease, but the federal government will still cover 90 percent of the costs in 2020, according to the report.
States that have chosen to expand their programs will gain a considerable amount of new federal funds, receiving, on average, about 2.35 times as much in funds for the Medicaid expansion than they receive from the federal highway program in 2022, according to the report. Meanwhile, those that don't participate will miss out.
The Commonwealth Fund analyzed states that are currently not expanding Medicaid and found these five will experience the greatest net losses of federal funds in 2022 as a result of opting out, assuming all other states participate and factoring in federal taxes paid by state residents.
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More Articles on Medicaid Expansion:
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Wisconsin Budget Committee Approves Medicaid Reform Delay