HHS: More Than 8.9M Deemed Eligible for Medicaid, CHIP

More than 8.9 million people were deemed eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program through state agencies or through the state-based marketplaces between October and January, according to an HHS blog post.

In January, more than 2 million people were informed they qualify for either Medicaid or CHIP, and most of those people reside in states that have chosen to expand Medicaid coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to HHS. These numbers include people who are newly eligible because of Medicaid expansion, people deemed eligible under laws that predate the PPACA and Medicaid renewals in some states. The figures don't include Medicaid eligibility determinations made through the federal marketplace.

This year, 25 states and the District of Columbia are moving forward with expanding their Medicaid programs to cover people earning as much as 138 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Six states are still debating expansion, while 19 aren't moving forward with it at this time.

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