Medicaid expansion
As the month of June winded down, a federal court issued a ruling invalidating Kentucky’s effort to attach work and other community engagement requirements to receive Medicaid benefits.
Imagine this: You’ve been unemployed for a year and, as a result, don’t have health insurance. You have type 2 diabetes. You need blood tests, but they cost $600 and you can’t afford that. You have a broken tooth that you can’t get fixed. You want to work, but no matter how hard you try, you haven’t been able to find a job.
En español | As we approach the end of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s third health insurance open enrollment period, it’s a good time to look at how the ACA has affected older Americans.
This month, state legislatures throughout the nation are convening to mark the inauguration of new governors, state legislators and other state leaders. We will then begin to hear State of the State messages from governors that detail the challenges, opportunities and priorities they have defined for the year ahead.
When you’re sick, what do you do?
A few days ago, the Maine legislature passed a bill - for the third time - that would expand affordable health coverage for nearly 70,000 residents who earn up to $15,000 a year. These hard-working Mainers - our friends, neighbors, even family - may have lost their jobs or are working in jobs that don't offer health coverage. Gov. Paul LePage has already vetoed two similar bills to expand Medicaid, which would not only help the thousands of Mainers who are struggling without health care, but would bring millions of federal dollars into the state - money that could create jobs and pump up the economy. AARP again urges Gov. LePage to put people before politics and sign the bill to expand affordable health coverage.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created an additional set of rules governing Medicaid eligibility. These new rules and the traditional rules interact in ways that can significantly affect low-income Medicare beneficiaries. States need to understand what's at stake.
This week, Health Insurance Marketplaces opened in states across the country. It's true: Many more Americans will now have access to affordable health care. But, other hard-working people, who live in states that have not yet committed to expanding Medicaid, will fall into a new coverage gap.
Meet Lorna, a 59-year-old who has been unemployed for a year and, as a result, doesn't have health insurance. She has Type-2 Diabetes. Recently she had to have some blood tests done, costing $600 that she can't afford. She has a broken tooth that she's not able to get fixed. She wants to work, but can't find a job in the area.
In the mad rush to pass budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the health care of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans is at stake - and time is running out. As I write, only about half of the states have agreed to expand Medicaid, which will extend health coverage to residents who earn about $15,000 a year or less. The closer we come to July 1, the greater the wins and harder the losses: