Medicaid Expansions

Fast-track enrollment strategies do more than help people sign up for Medicaid—they save states money. These strategies speed up the eligibility process by allowing states to use information they already have on file from other public benefit programs. By vastly reducing the time eligibility workers spend processing Medicaid applications, fast-track strategies can reduce administrative expenses. This brief examines the costs and savings of two states—West Virginia and Illinois—implementing fast-track enrollment in Medicaid.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released information on how many additional people were enrolled in coverage through Medicaid and CHIP since October 1, 2013, when the first open-enrollment period for the new health insurance marketplaces was launched, through April 2014, the most recent information available. This brief assesses how reported changes in enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP during this period compare with changes in Medicaid/CHIP enrollment projected by the end of 2016 by the Urban Institute’s Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model (HIPSM).
 

Many states are incorporating policies into their Medicaid programs that seek to enhance beneficiaries’ ability to make informed decisions about their health and health care and become more active, engaged participants in the health care system. Several of these consumer incentive programs are tied to a broader state effort to use federal funds to extend coverage to a previously uninsured population. This technical assistance tool provides examples of consumer incentives and personal responsibility in Medicaid programs across the nation, including strategies used in new alternative expansion models.
 

This monthly report on state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) data represents state Medicaid and CHIP agencies’ eligibility activity for the calendar month of April 2014. While the initial open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace ended on March 31, Medicaid and CHIP enrollment continues year round. CMS reports that Medicaid and CHIP enrollment grew by 1.1 million in April, which brought the total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment to 65 million people by the end of that month.
 

This set of FAQs released by CMS provides information regarding eligibility, benefits and cost-sharing for Basic Health Program (BHP) enrollees, and additional details about BHP administration, contracting, and financing by state governments. CMS is currently developing a BHP Blueprint template, and will be making it available to states shortly.