Business analysts view the expansion as "several hundreds of billions of dollars" worth of opportunity for Medicaid health plans. Meanwhile, news organizations track the continuing debate in Kentucky, Florida, New Hampshire and Texas about whether to participate in the expansion.
Kaiser Health News: Health Insurers See Big Opportunities In Health Law's Medicaid Expansion
For industry titans such as UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint, as well as smaller, Medicaid-focused plans such as Molina, the Medicaid expansion is expected to bring significant enrollment and revenue growth. "This is several hundreds of billions of dollars of new market opportunity for these plans over the next couple of years," says Jason Gurda, managing director of healthcare with investment bank Leerink Swann in New York (Galewitz, 3/8).
The Associated Press: Bullock Takes Medicaid Expansion To Constituents
[Montana] Gov. Steve Bullock is ramping up the pressure on lawmakers by taking his Medicaid expansion request, one of the legislative session's bigger issues, straight to his constituents. Bullock has been touring the state selling his proposal, and he pitched it Thursday to the Helena Chamber of Commerce (3/7).
The Associated Press: Price Tag Of Health Overhaul Adjusted Downward
Florida economists on Thursday came out with a new price tag for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that is dramatically lower than the one cited earlier this year by Gov. Rick Scott. Economists are now projecting that it would cost Florida taxpayers about $5.2 billion over the next decade to pay for the changes (Fineout, 3/7).