Maine, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Vermont will restrict Medicaid eligibility for certain groups starting next year, according to a Kaiser Health News report.
The state proposals to reduce eligibility and cut program spending still need federal approval. All of those who stand to lose their Medicaid coverage will be eligible for federal subsidies to buy health insurance through the new exchanges, aside from 10,000 childless adults with incomes below 100 percent of the federal poverty level in Maine, according to the report.
Wisconsin has proposed cutting 92,000 people from its Medicaid program. Under the plan, 87,000 parents and caretakers and 5,000 childless adults with incomes above the federal poverty level would lose their coverage and be sent to the state's online insurance exchange instead, according to the report. At the same time, the state plans to extend Medicaid to an additional 100,000 childless adults with incomes below the poverty level. The Wisconsin Department of Health has stated the eligibility changes seek to balance maintaining a strong safety net with allowing people to keep their independence and stay in the private health insurance market, according to the report.
Rhode Island plans to restrict Medicaid eligibility for parents of minor children to reduce state spending, scaling back the income threshold from 175 percent of the poverty level to 138 percent, leading to 6,700 people losing their coverage. Simultaneously, the state will expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to cover all childless adults with incomes of up to 138 percent the poverty level, adding approximately 45,000 people.
Maine plans to reduce its coverage for childless adults. The state will also tighten eligibility requirements for parents and caretakers, changing the income threshold from 133 percent to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. In total, the state expects to cut its coverage by 35,000 people. The state can't afford its current Medicaid program, Maine Gov. Paul LePage said in a message accompanying his veto of a Medicaid expansion measure, according to the report.
Vermont will cut coverage for about 19,000 people as the state ends initiatives to help people with incomes as high as 300 percent of the poverty level. The state is ending the initiatives to save money, since the people involved will qualify for subsidies to buy coverage through the exchanges next year, according to the report.
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