Medicaid expansion fostered increased coverage, reduced cost-related barriers

Kentucky’s Medicaid program and Arkansas’ private option resulted in significant improvements in health care quality during their second year of expansion, as well as increases in preventive care, outpatient utilization and self-reported health, according to recent data.“The Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has led to gains in coverage for millions of low-income adults in more than 30 states. But in several states, policymakers continue to debate whether to expand Medicaid and are weighing alternative approaches, such as using private insurance, increased cost-sharing, or work requirements for beneficiaries,” Benjamin D. Sommers, MD, PhD, from the department of health policy and management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote. “In this report, we assess changes in access, utilization, preventive care, and self-reported health among low-income adults after 2 full years of expansion in three Southern states that responded differently to the ACA’s optional Medicaid expansion.”