THE REPERCUSSIONS OF REPEALING THE ACA MEDICAID EXPANSION

By Howard Green

While the Senate takes into consideration the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017, the Kaiser Family Foundation just recently reported on the primary provisions that would impact Medicaid; they are, the removal of statutory authority to cover childless adults up to 138% FPL ($ 16,643 for an individual in 2017) in addition to the provision that does away with the enhanced match rate for the Medicaid expansion.

In the research study, KFF reports that a repeal of the Medicaid expansion would have dire coverage and financing repercussions for the states that have expanded the program.

Evaluation of the data showed that states would see a $700 billion deficit in federal Medicaid funds from 2020 to 2026. In 2026, states would see a decrease in federal Medicaid funding of $121 billion and estimated reductions in coverage of 17.6 million individuals. Without Medicaid expansion or affordable insurance alternatives, it is likely that most of these individuals would become uninsured.

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MEDICAID ENROLLEES GENERALLY HAPPY WITH PROGRAM

By Howard Green

Enrollment surveys have shown that healthcare choices under Medicaid programs are acceptable to enrollees. Enrollees have stated in a countrywide survey that the healthcare they receive under Medicaid is more than adequate. Analysts at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that in general, Medicaid enrollees have accessibility to doctors with their Medicaid insurance.

JAMA Internal Medicine just recently published these findings while some lawmakers continue to argue the opposite. Some argue that Medicaid is broken and does not supply appropriate services to those in need. Never the less, JAMA's findings indicate that enrollees are obtaining and making use of the provided options.

According to Michael Barnett and Benjamin Sommers, professors of health policy at the Harvard Chan School, "the debate on the future of Medicaid has largely marginalized a crucial voice: the perspective of enrollees. Our findings confirm that Medicaid programs are fulfilling their mission to provide access to necessary medical care."

Harvard researchers evaluated data from Medicaid's first national Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems survey. This sought to assess people's experiences with Medicaid. The survey was carried out by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from December 2014 to July 2015. More than 270,000 members from 46 states responded. Based on the survey's results, researchers where able to garner the following information about enrollee's satisfaction with the program:

• On a scale of zero to 10, with zero representing "the worst health care possible" and 10 representing "the best health care possible," participants in the survey rated their overall health care an average rating of 7.9.
• 84% of enrollees revealed that prescribed care was accessible from their physician in the past six months.
• 83% reported having a usual source of care.
• Only 3% reported not being able to get care because of waiting times or insufficient coverage.

As a whole, the study revealed that participants from all demographics are satisfied with Medicaid in states that did not expand and states that did expand under the ACA.

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