States' debate regarding whether to expand Medicaid tends to focus on the cost of the newly eligible beneficiaries, but a study published in the journal Health Affairs said if Massachusetts is any indicator, plenty of previously eligible but unenrolled patients may also sign up and add to costs.
Calling it the "welcome mat effect," researchers noted that the 2006 Medicaid expansion in Massachusetts prompted a 16.3 percentage point increase in Medicaid enrollment of low-income parents who were eligible even without the looser criteria. Participation of Medicaid-eligible individuals without private coverage spiked 19.4 percent in the same year, according to the study.
The decision to expand Medicaid should consider two factors more heavily, researchers recommended. "First, the eligible but uninsured constitute a substantial share of the uninsured population in some states. Second, the newly eligible population will affect states' Medicaid caseloads and budgets," according to the study's abstract.
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