Those who were eligible before the PPACA but not enrolled in Medicaid are also in equal or better health than the enrollee population before the reform law took effect, according to the study. Economists and researchers from the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Md., reached this conclusion based on simulation methods and data collected from 2005 to 2010 by the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
The study authors compared nonelderly adults enrolled in Medicaid, those eligible before the PPACA but not enrolled and those likely to be newly eligible under Medicaid expansion. They found that, compared with pre-PPACA Medicaid enrollees, people who were pre-PPACA eligible but not enrolled had higher, or healthier, mean scores on the physical and mental health summary components of the twelve-item Short-Form Health Survey included in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Additionally, chronic conditions were less prevalent among the pre-PPACA eligible but not enrolled group and the newly eligible. For instance, 35.3 percent of pre-PPACA Medicaid enrollees were obese, compared with 28.4 percent of the newly eligible and 28.8 percent of the pre-PPACA eligible but unenrolled.
Despite these findings, because of the growth in the enrollee population, states that expand Medicaid will see 2.8 times more nondisabled beneficiaries with chronic conditions than they had before extending eligibility, assuming all newly eligible adults without employment-based insurance enroll, according to the study. “States might wish to determine whether or not services are available to meet the needs of these new enrollees,” the study states.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 26 states and the District of Columbia are moving forward with Medicaid expansion this year so far, extending eligibility to those earning as much as 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Nineteen states are not moving forward with expansion at this time, while five more states aren’t moving forward but are debating the decision.
More Articles on Medicaid Expansion:
Commonwealth Fund: New Coverage Options Could Help Millions of Underinsured
New Hampshire House Passes Alternate Medicaid Expansion Plan
Arkansas House Reauthorizes Insurance Program for Low-Income Residents
