The Medicaid Expansion And Health Reform Laws

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The Medicaid expansion due to health reform laws means some states have expanded their Medicaid programs to cover all individuals with household incomes below a certain level, and there are some states that have not expanded their programs. You can qualify for Medicaid based on income, household size, disability, family status, and other factors in all states. Eligibility rules vary from state to state. In states that have expanded Medicaid coverage, you can qualify based on income alone. If your household income is below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), you qualify. Some states use a different income limit. There are several reasons there are differences from state to state. When the health care law was passed, it required states to provide Medicaid coverage for all adults 18 to 65 with incomes up to 133% of the FPL, regardless of their health, age, or family status (Healthcare.gov n.d.). The law also provides premium tax credits for people with incomes between 100% and 400% of the FPL to buy private insurance plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace (Healthcare.gov n.d.). The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that the Medicaid expansion is voluntary with states (Healthcare.gov n.d.). As a result, some states did not expand their Medicaid programs. Adults, in those states, with incomes below 100% of the FPL, and who don’t qualify for Medicaid based on disability, age, or other factors, fall into a gap (Healthcare.gov n.d.). States are continuing to make coverage decisions. They could expand Medicaid in the future (Heathcare.gov n.d.). A comparison of Medicaid eligibility requirements and covered services between California and Nevada will be reviewed, and how the two states responded to the option of expanding ...

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...lderly citizens to 133% of poverty. According to the CBO, the ACA will reduce the number of uninsured by 30 million in 2016, with an estimated 17 million additional individuals covered by Medicaid. The federal government will finance about 95% of the costs of new Medicaid coverage from 2014 to 2019. States could see savings from reduced payments for services currently provided for the uninsured. ACA provides new options to expand community-based long-term care and to coordinate care for duals and other high cost populations. Medicaid is a critical lifeline to care for 60 million low income and high need Americans (Kaiser Family Foundation 2013). Medicaid is the foundation for a new coverage for low income individuals under health reform (Kaiser Family Foundation 2013). Health reform has the opportunity to significantly reduce the number of uninsured.

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