government
State estimates costs of expanding Medicaid
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 24, 2012
Wyoming could incur up to nearly $150 million in additional costs by 2020 if it decides to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act, according to a report prepared for the Wyoming Dept. of Health by Milliman Inc.
The state could gain between 16,800 and 44,500 additional enrollees by the end of 2016 if it expands its program to those up to 133% of poverty (an effective rate of 138%) in 2014. “If our best estimate for enrollment is realized, we project state costs for the expansion population of $116 million to $148 million from FY 2014 to FY 2020,” according to the report. Up to $60 million of these costs would go to pay for the care of those who are eligible and not enrolled in Medicaid but are expected to enroll in 2014 due to the law’s mandate for insurance, in addition to newly eligible children.
As of June 2011, at least 70,000 beneficiaries were enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, and about 90,000 were in the program at some point during the past fiscal year.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/09/24/gvbf0924.htm.
