New study highlights range of health law's Medicaid expansion estimates

The study, which was posted in Health Affairs online, makes clear the unknowns that surround this piece of the health law's implementation.

Politico Pro: Study Looks At Coverage Without Mandate
Should the Supreme Court strike the individual mandate in the health care law, 23 million people could still gain coverage, according to a study posted in Health Affairs online. That's a less severe impact on the number of uninsured and the cost of insurance than some experts have anticipated. And with or without the mandate, states should be prepared for a lot of variability in how many of the newly eligible sign up for Medicaid -; which means a lot of uncertainty about spending and about guaranteeing access to care, according to a separate study in the journal (Kenen, 10/27).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Study Highlights Range Of Medicaid Expansion Estimates
If one thing is certain about the 2010 health law, it's that almost nothing about it is certain. And according to a newly released report, one of the major unknowns involves the law's expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor (Torres, 10/26).

ABC News: New Study Says Government Should Prepare For Contingencies in Medicaid Expansion
The federal government will bear a heavier financial load when it comes to Medicaid as the number of Americans who receive aid jumps under the Obama administration's health care plan, according to a new study. The research, published in Health Affairs, found that the number of additional people enrolling in Medicaid may vary by more than 10 million, which would require federal government to spend an additional $58 billion on the program annually. According to the report, more than 7,000 new doctors could be needed because of the expansion. "Our results indicate that policy makers should prepare to handle a broad range of contingencies in the Medicaid expansion under health reform," the report concluded (Khan, 10/26).