title: Medicaid benefit designs for newly eligible adults: state approaches.
abstract: The Affordable Care Act gives states the option of providing less-generous Medicaid coverage to adults who become eligible through the law's expansion of the program. Based on a review of the benefit design choices made by states that had expanded Medicaid by the end of 2014, we find that states have chosen to offer more generous coverage than what is required under federal law, either narrowing or eliminating the distinction between coverage levels for newly eligible adults and those for traditional adult beneficiaries, such as pregnant women, parents and guardians, or beneficiaries with disabilities. This suggests that states view the newly eligible beneficiaries as having the elevated health and health care needs that are common among low-income populations.
authors.affiliation: Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University. sarar@gwu.edu
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.forename: Devi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dorley
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hurt
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rothenberg
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ely
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019985:Benchmarking; D004608:Eligibility Determination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007342:Insurance Benefits / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008875:Middle Aged; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D011203:Poverty; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States