Commission faces deadline for decision on Medicaid expansion
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-- A legislative commission set up to evaluate the future of expanded Medicaid in
"The charge to the commission was to look at whether Medicaid expansion is working, and I think 50,000 people are benefiting, hospital uncompensated care has gone down significantly, and employers have access to a healthier population," said state Sen.
About 50,000 Granite State residents obtained Medicaid coverage under the more liberal income guidelines, but the so-called
The 15-member Commission to Evaluate the Effectiveness and Future of the
The commission met on Wednesday and the discussion revolved around how Medicaid expansion should continue, not if it should continue.
Senate Majority Leader Bradley, who chairs the commission, said after the meeting that the group is most focused reducing the impact Medicaid expansion has had on premiums for non-Medicaid customers buying insurance on the Obamacare individual marketplace.
Instead, the expanded Medicaid population obtained coverage from one of the companies offering plans on healthcare.gov, mostly the Ambetter plans offered by New Hampshire Healthy Families.
The result has been an increase in premiums on the exchange between 40 and 50 percent in some cases due in large part to the high claims costs of the Medicaid enrollees.
"We've got to make the program more cost efficient," said Bradley. "There are about 25,000 to 35,000 people whose rates have gone up significantly, not only because of Medicaid expansion, but that's one of the drivers."
The commission is debating three options in the hope that it can finalize a recommendation by
--Leave the situation as it is, with the expanded Medicaid population purchasing insurance on healthcare.gov, with Medicaid paying the premiums;
--Move all 50,000 of the expanded Medicaid population into the traditional Medicaid program in which Medicaid pays for services through managed care organizations like Well Sense Health Plan.
--Move only the sickest of the 50,000 into the traditional Medicaid program and leave the remainder in the individual market pool with the other Obamacare customers.
But the question of ending the program entirely appears to be off the table.
"It's been a benefit to
Public Safety Health State Government
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