The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to open new avenues for health insurance coverage through both the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion.
However, as of March 2014, 24 states weren't moving forward with extending Medicaid eligibility. Here are three key things to know about Medicaid expansion and the uninsured population, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report.
1. The PPACA aims to extend coverage to the uninsured in part by extending Medicaid to nearly all nonelderly adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($32,900 for a family of four in 2014). Although expansion was originally mandatory, the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling made it optional for the states.
2. Medicaid eligibility is significantly limited in non-expanding states. As of January, the median Medicaid eligibility threshold for non-disabled parents in states not expanding their programs is 46 percent of the poverty level, or $11,200 for a parent in a family of four, according to the report.
3. Nationally, 4.8 million uninsured adults in states not expanding Medicaid will fall into a coverage gap, meaning they don't qualify for Medicaid but also don't meet the threshold (100 percent of the federal poverty level) for subsidies to help them buy health plans through the exchanges.
More Articles on Medicaid Expansion:
10 States Driving Medicaid Enrollment
CMS: 3M Enrolled in Medicaid, CHIP Through March 1
New Hampshire House Passes Alternate Medicaid Expansion Plan