Federal health officials are highlighting the treatment of opioid abuse and mental health issues as they push for more states to expand their Medicaid programs, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Federal officials want more states to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. So far, 30 states have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, while 20 have not.
Based on recently released information from HHS, around 2 million low-income, uninsured people in those 20 states have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder, according to the report.
"Medicaid expansion is an important step states can take to address behavioral health needs, including serious mental illness and opioid and other substance use disorders," HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Federal officials cited the benefits of Medicaid expansion. They contended that Medicaid expansion would extend health coverage to many Americans with an addiction or other mental illness, according to the report. They also argued that Medicaid expansion would reduce states' costs, partly because states currently directly fund some mental health treatments and would receive a greater amount of federal funding to grow their Medicaid programs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
But those who oppose Medicaid expansion cite the cost of further inflating the Medicaid program, contending neither states nor the federal government can afford to do so, according to the report. According to the report, opponents also argue a shortage of providers to treat the newly insured brings an additional challenge in trying to enroll more people in Medicaid.