Ready, Set, Plan, Implement: Executing The Expansion Of Medicaid

Federal and state governments must soon begin planning and developing systems to implement the expansion of Medicaid for low-income adults, as prescribed in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. States will have to establish enrollment and coordination procedures, determine benefit packages, and update arrangements with providers. Federal estimates indicate that states will bear relatively little of the new cost, but some states disagree. State planning efforts will be challenged by current budget shortfalls and, in many states, political opposition. Paradoxically, many of the states opposing expansions are those whose Medicaid-eligible patient populations have the most to gain from health reform.