off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Why Health Reform Is a Good Deal for the States
Critics who claim the new health reform law’s Medicaid expansion will place an unaffordable burden on states ignore the fact that the federal government will cover virtually all of the cost. They also ignore the ways in which the law will save states money.
Under the new law, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will cover an estimated 16 million more low-income adults and children, most of whom are now uninsured.
- The federal government will pay 96 percent of the cost of this expansion, according to the Congressional Budget Office (see graph).
- The cost for states, $20 billion for the 2014-2019 period, will increase their overall Medicaid spending by just 1.25 percent.
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