Surges in Medicaid enrollment causes concern over state budgets News
Surges in Medicaid enrollment causes concern over state budgets

[JURIST] Over a dozen states that have decided to expand Medicaid [official website] under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) [official website] have seen enrollment numbers surge over recent months, raising concerns over state budgets as federal aid is set to reduce in two years. Lawmakers have warned that the price of expanding the ACA, as states are doing, could lead to state’s having less funds for other government services. The expansions and subsequent rises in enrollment have occurred in states across the country. It has been reported [Detroit Free Press report] that in Michigan enrollment is a quarter higher today than what official predicted it would be at five years from now. Governor Rick Snyder’s [official website] administration had initially predicted that about 477,000 people would be enrolled by 2020. The current number of enrollees 15 months after the program’s expansion launched is now 600,000. Likewise in California, it has been reported [Press Telegram report] that the number of people currently enrolled in the program is three times the amount predicted by officials. The current number of enrollees in California is 2.3 million.

Medicaid and the ACA have come under severe scrutiny since the ACA’s inception in 2010. In June the US Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] 6-3 in King v. Burwell that tax credits available to those who buy health insurance through state exchanges are also available to those who buy it through the federal exchange. Also in June new records were released [JURIST report] by the Center for Public Integrity that revealed a confidential legal battle over Medicare over-billing that spanned three years between government officials and UnitedHealth Group. In May the New York Assembly voted [JURIST report] 89-47 in favor of legislation to establish publicly funded universal health coverage, in which all New York residents may enroll. In March the Supreme Court held [JURIST report] that Medicaid providers do not have the ability to sue for an injunction to force compliance with the Medicaid Act.