XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: white-liar@democrats.com   
      
   By the end of April 2014, 65 million people were enrolled in the   
   Medicaid program. According to the Obama Adminstration in a   
   Wednesday announcement, this number was up by six million   
   compared with the number immediately before the Affordable Care   
   Act (ACA) went into effect. A key aim of the ACA was to increase   
   the number of those on Medicaid. However, debate surrounds   
   whether the new number claimed by the Administration is   
   reflective of fulfillment of the aim of the ACA or of other   
   factors that dictate Medicaid enrollment.   
      
   Medicaid is a federally-mandated health insurance program for   
   low-income individuals and families who cannot afford the costs   
   of health care. The programs vary by state, and different states   
   report their Medicaid data differently and at different times.   
   This is one of the reasons that quantitative assessment of   
   Medicaid is tricky. Other reasons include that eligibility for   
   Medicaid fluctuates with income, pregnancy, and age of children.   
   These variables fluctuate and change abruptly.   
      
   The implementation of Obamacare further complicates Medicaid   
   tracking. The ACA created several new provisions that vary by   
   state. Twenty-five states receive additional funding under the   
   ACA to cover all adults earning up to one third of the federal   
   poverty level income. The Urban Institute, a left-leaning non-   
   profit research organization, estimated that 4.4 million people   
   in these states became eligible for Medicaid as a direct result   
   of the implementation of the ACA. The actual number will become   
   available later this year after states bill the federal   
   government for the additional enrollees.   
      
   The ACA requires most Americans to carry health care coverage or   
   face a penalty. This year, many states saw an increase in   
   Medicaid enrollment around the time the ACA went into effect,   
   including among those that were eligible prior to the ACA   
   implementation but that did not enroll.   
      
   The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services stressed in their   
   report that they are not claiming that all 6 million of the new   
   enrollees added since the ACA went into effect are linked   
   directly to the ACA. Rather, the report underscores that this   
   number includes changes attributable to the ACA. As evidence,   
   cited were that the states not receiving ACA funds saw only a   
   3.3 percent increase in Medicaid enrollment compared with the   
   funded states’ 15.3 percent increase.   
      
   http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/06/enrollment-numbers-for-   
   medicaid-after-obamacare-went-live-not-clear/   
      
       
      
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