Starting in 2014, the new health care law will require participating states to cover everyone earning 133 percent of the poverty level or less through Medicaid. It is estimated that this will bring 16 million to 23 million more people into Medicaid. The federal government will pick up nearly all the cost of these newly eligible beneficiaries, starting at 100 percent from 2014 to 2016 and gradually decreasing its share to 90 percent from 2020 onwards.
The impact of this mandate could vary considerably. States such as Texas and Alabama that have had narrow eligibility rules will add far more people to their rolls. But they will also get a lot more federal dollars to cover the extra cost. States such as Massachusetts and New York, whose current rules are more expansive, may see fewer new enrollees, but initially they’ll get less federal help to cover them.
Such states could also see savings because many people they have been helping will be eligible for federal subsidies to buy insurance on state-based exchanges.
So what’s the bottom line? Estimates vary widely.
Read the whole story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804768.html?hpid=sec-health
