Medicaid costs to Randolph County disputed by state officials
As the debate over expanding Medicaid in
Murphy, basing her estimate on an expected 10,800 increase in the number of Medicaid beneficiaries, said that increase in new clients would require a minimum of 32 new DSS staff members as well as office equipment. The additional staff would be necessary, she said, to support the added caseload.
Murphy estimated the cost of the 32 staff members and the necessary office equipment at
Murphy concluded that, using the current cost share, the approximate share for the county would be
Not so, according to representatives from AARP North Carolina and NC Medicaid under the
In a letter to the editor, Hensley said, in part, "I was baffled by the figures ... . There will be NO additional cost to the county if we were to expand Medicaid to cover those in the coverage gap -- the people who don't currently qualify for Medicaid and make too little to get a subsidy on the healthcare exchange. ...
"Let's be clear, 100 percent of county costs of expansion are paid by the federal government, hospitals and health plans. This includes administrative costs. ...
"As
"In addition, closing the health coverage gap would be an engine for economic growth that creates over 37,000 more jobs in
"Let's get the numbers right. Medicaid expansion would be good for
Under the current system, in which there is a Medicaid coverage gap, emergency rooms are required to serve uninsured patients, Richard said. With expansion of Medicaid, there would be more patients with insurance coverage and hospitals would benefit by being able to recoup payments for those services.
In addition, Richard said, Medicaid would work with counties to manage the added cost of administration without the use of state funds. That would be true, he said, even if DSS had to expand its facilities.
He went on to say that expanding Medicaid in
In an email, Richard's office sent the following quote: "The federal government passed a permanently enhanced Medicaid expansion match rate that does not require reauthorization. That means the federal government's commitment to paying 90 percent of expansion costs is locked in indefinitely barring a change in federal law.
"Expansion would not require the
"Expanding Medicaid is fiscally responsible. NC taxpayers are paying for Medicaid expansion in other states, and this is an opportunity to bring some of those federal tax dollars back home."
In addition to confirming figures used by Hahn, Richard's office added the following information concerning benefits for counties by expanding Medicaid:
--All county costs of expansion, including administration, are paid by the federal government, hospitals and health plans.
--As
--Rural hospitals (including
--In
--Access to treatment for opioid use disorder increased and opioid overdose deaths decreased in states that closed the coverage gap. For example,
--In states that have closed the coverage gap: More babies live to their first birthday, fewer women die during pregnancy, enrollees experienced improved mental and physical health, the share of people with uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension dropped, and the number and severity of hospitalizations for certain conditions dropped. Closing the gap was associated with earlier cancer diagnosis, improved access to cancer treatment and fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease.
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