Glitch in Federal Health Reform Could Cost Texas
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/medicaid-pills.png)
A glitch in the federal health reform bill that would make many middle-class Americans eligible for Medicaid could cost Texas nearly $90 million a year by 2017, according to a state analysis.
The Associated Press reported last week that unintentional language in President Obama's health reform bill would let up to 3 million people — largely early retirees — qualify for Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurance program for the poor, by 2014.
If the language isn't changed or repealed — unlikely, considering Medicare's chief actuary, and now the Obama administration, has acknowledged it makes no sense — Texas would see roughly 270,000 to 280,000 new Medicaid clients a year, starting in 2014. (That's 9 percent of the nation's total.)
The costs wouldn't kick in for Texas until 2017, when they're estimated to be an additional $89.2 million a year, according to numbers run by Texas' Health and Human Services Commission.
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
Information about the authors
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/Ramshaw-Close.jpg)
Contributors
Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.