Cost Deters Medicaid Expansion

Medicaid expansion continues to vary in popularity. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia plan to expand Medicaid, while four are actively considering it and 20 have no plans to do so, reports California Healthline.

So what's keeping states from expanding their Medicaid programs? State leaders and politicians are primarily worried about the cost. For those that plan to expand, the federal government will fund 100 percent of the state's expansion for three years and 90 percent after that. But some states worry the government won't hold up its end of the bargain.

"Many Republicans do not trust the federal government to sustain its increased share of funding for the Medicaid expansion. They argue that paying 10 percent for a program they do not like and that already accounts for a large portion of their budget is still too much," according to a recent piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association, notes California Healthline.

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Source: Fierce Health Payer