ACA and Medicaid

Posted on January 7, 2014 by admin

• Churning between Medicaid and exchanges could leave gaps in coverage, experts warn, By Jenni Bergal, January 5, 2014, Washington Post: “While government officials have spent months scrambling to fix the federal health-care law’s botched rollout, another issue is looming that could create new headaches for states, health plans — and patients. In 2014, millions of people are expected to shift between the health exchanges and Medicaid as their income fluctuates. That could be costly for states and insurance companies, and patients could wind up having gaps in coverage or having to switch health plans or doctors…”
• Thousands waiting for Medicaid coverage are stuck in limbo, By Phil Galewitz, January 6, 2014, NBC News: “For years, Obama administration officials talked about how the health law’s online marketplaces would offer a seamless shopping experience for consumers looking for health coverage. But that’s turned out to be an empty promise for many low-income people who went to healthcare.gov, the federal enrollment portal, and were deemed eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In five states alone — Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina and Arizona — about 104,000 people are still waiting to get enrolled in the public programs after trying to sign up through healthcare.gov, according to state officials and advocacy groups…”