1.46 million enroll in Medicaid through health law exchanges

Dec 5 2013

The Obama administration said Tuesday that more than 1.46 million people have been found eligible and signed up for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program in October. Meanwhile, South Dakota's governor won't rule out expanding Medicaid in the future and Ohio lawmakers are poised to give themselves greater oversight of the program after the governor bypassed them to expand it.

The New York Times: October Medicaid Applications Far Outpace Enrollment Through Exchanges
The Obama administration said Tuesday that 1.46 million people had applied and been found eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program in October, far more than had selected a private health plan in the new insurance marketplaces (Pear, 12/3).

Kaiser Health News: 1.46 Million Determined To Be Eligible for Medicaid And CHIP In October
After two months of media shellacking, healthcare.gov website woes and a series of skeptical congressional grillings, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was accentuating the positive, noting the jump in the number of people eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (Evans, 12/4).

The Washington Post: South Dakota Governor Daugaard Won't Rule Out Future Medicaid Expansion
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) doesn't favor expanding Medicaid coverage to include more low-income residents, but it appears he won't rule out the possibility of expanding the program in the future. Daugaard, who plans to address the state's budget in a speech to the legislature Tuesday, is expected to tell legislators he will pursue coverage for tens of thousands of uninsured South Dakota residents through other means (Wilson, 12/3).

Columbus Dispatch: GOP Bill Would Expand Medicaid Oversight
Less than two months after Gov. John Kasich bypassed the General Assembly to expand Medicaid eligibility, legislators are poised to enact a bill to give themselves more oversight and input on the tax-funded health-care program for Ohio's poor and disabled. Yesterday, a House subcommittee recommended -- on a party-line vote -- passage of legislation that Republicans say will reduce costs and help those who rely on Medicaid to find jobs and move off government assistance (Candisky, 12/4).

The State: SC Medicaid Program Growing Despite Rejection Of Obamacare
 S.C. lawmakers -- led by Republican Gov. Nikki Haley -- refused to expand the state's Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act, saying the state could not afford it. But the enrollment and costs of the state's health insurance program for the poor are growing rapidly even without that expansion (Beam, 12/3).

Meanwhile, another group is expected to benefit --

Kaiser Health News: Medicaid Expansion Expected To Offer Coverage To Many Former Prisoners
When Medicaid expands next year under the federal health law to include all adults living close to the poverty line, one group of eligible beneficiaries will be several million men and women who have spent time in state and federal prisons and jails. The Department of Justice estimates former inmates and detainees will comprise about 35 percent of the people who will qualify for Medicaid coverage in the states expanding their programs to anyone earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $15,000 for an individual in 2013. The Congressional Budget Office estimated earlier this year that 9 million people will get that new coverage next year (Gugliotta, 12/4).

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