- Nationwide enrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program has increased by more than 6 million people since marketplace enrollment began in October 2013 under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new government report.
That's a 10.3 percent increase over the same reporting period from the previous year - October 2012 through April 2013.
Data from 48 states and the District of Columbia show 1.1 million more people enrolled in both both programs in April of this year than they did in 2013, according to the new report by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The enrollment increases show the effect of the ACA's Medicaid expansion which allows states to extend program eligibility for most individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $15,521 for an individual and $31,721 for a family of four.
In states that expanded Medicaid, the state/federal health plan for low-income and disabled Americans, program enrollment increased by 15.3 percent compared to only 3.3 percent in states that didn't implement the expansion.
Under Medicaid expansion, the federal government pays 100 percent of medical costs for newly eligible adult beneficiaries for the first three years and no less than 90 percent of the costs thereafter.
Enrollment in Medicaid and its companion program, CHIP, continues year round, so enrollment numbers are likely to keep increasing.
To read the HHS report on Medicaid enrollment, go to http://bit.ly/StSvBM
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