Must-Read: Jesse Cross-Call: Medicaid Expansion Is Producing Large Gains in Health Coverage and Saving States Money
Arkansas: Medicaid expansion… cumulative savings of nearly $120 million by the end of fiscal year 2015, includ[ing] $72.9 million in savings within the Arkansas Medicaid program from moving people who previously received care under specialized Medicaid categories… into the expansion’s new eligibility group, for which the federal government pays the full cost…. The state expects to collect $34.4 million in new revenue… from taxes… producing a total gain for the state budget of over $150 million in 18 months.
Kentucky: Medicaid expansion saved Kentucky $25.8 million in fiscal year 2014, and is expected to lead to another $83.1 million in savings in fiscal year 2015… $30… on behavioral health programs, $16.4 million from spending less on inpatient hospital costs for prisoners, and $16.4 million from moving people who previously received Medicaid coverage through a medically needy spend-down program into the expansion’s new eligibility group.
Michigan: Medicaid expansion saved the state $180 million in fiscal year 2014 and is projected to save Michigan $190 million in the state’s current fiscal year…. In addition, the state projects two-year savings of $19.2 million in its corrections system, as the federal government now covers the costs of prisoners hospitalized outside the corrections system, as a result of the Medicaid expansion.
New Jersey: As a result of the Medicaid expansion, Governor Chris Christie’s fiscal year 2016 budget proposal spends $148 million less on charity care and $417 million less on beneficiaries previously covered at the state’s regular matching rate…. The state expects the latter category to result in nearly $3 billion in savings to the state through 2020.
New Mexico: New Mexico will save $60 million from 2014 to 2016 by transitioning low-income adults who were receiving Medicaid coverage through a waiver prior to health reform into the expansion eligibility group… an additional $15.3 million in the current fiscal year because of lower demand for state-funded behavioral health…. The state also collected $30 million in new revenue in 2014 and expects to collect another $30 million this year from its premium taxes….
Washington: Medicaid expansion saved Washington $105.5 million in fiscal year 2014, and the state expects to save an additional $286.6 million in fiscal year 2015… $64.6 million in reduced behavioral health… $147.9 million from transferring adults awaiting a disability determination for Supplemental Security Income… to Medicaid… [plus] a $33.9 million increase in premium tax revenue in fiscal year 2015….