Washington, DC — The Obama administration has announced that as of the end of February 2014, three million Americans have signed up for Medicaid under Obama’s new health care law. Many of these were newly eligible because of the law’s Medicaid expansion. Others were already eligible, but did not realize it.
This news actually tops last week’s news that more than 7.1 million Americans had signed up for private insurance through the Healthcare.gov, the official Obamacare web site.
Can The Numbers Go Even Higher?
Yes, they can. To date, only about half of the country’s states have even accepted a Medicaid expansion in the health law, but the administration is working hard to get more states involved.
In the states that adopted the expansion, enrollment increased by 8.3 percent from October through February. But in states that did not accept the expansion, it increased only by 1.6 percent. So obviously, the states being onboard makes a difference.
With that said, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that at least 8 million Americans will sign up for Medicaid before the end of 2014.
About Medicaid
Medicaid is a federal and state-funded program that offers health insurance to low-income individuals, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The guidelines, coverage, and costs vary somewhat from state to state. For more details, visit www.medicaid.gov