Medicaid enrollment continued to climb in April, particularly in states that expanded their programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to an HHS report.
Under the PPACA, even some states that haven't expanded their Medicaid programs have seen an increase in enrollment due to the "woodwork effect" — when people who were previously eligible but not enrolled sign up because of increased outreach and awareness. Here are five findings on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollment in April for the 48 states that provided enrollment data for the most recent HHS report.
1. The states that provided enrollment data reported approximately 65 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in April.
2. More than 1.1 million additional people enrolled between March and April.
3. Comparing April data to enrollment numbers from July to September of 2013 (before the PPACA exchanges opened), more than 6 million additional people had signed up for Medicaid and CHIP, a 10.3 percent increase compared with the average monthly enrollment for July through September.
4. In states that had Medicaid expansions in effect in April, Medicaid and CHIP enrollment increased by 15.3 percent, compared with 3.3 percent in non-expansion states.
5. Nine of the 24 states that had expanded Medicaid by April saw an enrollment increase of 25 percent or more.
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