Kansas City residents who are considering Medicaid as part of their long-term care needs may be interested to hear that the decision of the United States Supreme Court that upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, did not uphold the provision of the Act that would have made it mandatory for states to expand Medicaid eligibility to low-income adults. Therefore, as of right now, some states have expanded Medicaid eligibility, while others have not.
However, according to a report by the Health and Human Services Department, the states that did expand their Medicaid programs have seen a steep decline in the number of residents who did not have insurance. Expansion states saw their uninsured rates go down on average 50 percent. Moreover, the average uninsured rate in states that expanded Medicaid was at 9.3 percent.
On the other hand, the states that did not expand their Medicaid programs did not see as much of a decline in number of people who are uninsured in their states. Non-expansion states saw their uninsured rates drop only by 33 percent. In addition, the average uninsured rate in non-expansion states was at 15.4 percent. As of now, 31 states, along with Washington, D.C., have chosen to expand their Medicaid program, in order to provide insurance coverage to more low-income adults.
According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, just over 72 million individuals were enrolled in Medicaid or the affiliated insurance program for children. This amounts to 15 million more individuals — an increase of 26.5 percent — since the initial open enrollment period took place in 2013.
While it remains to be seen whether other states will choose to expand their Medicaid programs, individuals in Kansas City who are considering Medicaid planning may want to speak to an attorney to make sure they are legally able to do so. Some individuals may need a special needs trust or may need to learn more about ways to prevent asset depletion. An attorney may be able to advise in these areas, as well as others.
Source: CNBC, “Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion leading to health insurance boom in some states,” Dan Mangan, July 20, 2016