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Medicaid Enrollment at 52 Percent of 2016 Projections

July 28, 2014

A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that states enrolled 6.7 million new Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries, as of the end of May 2014. These additional enrollees represent 52 percent of the projected 12.8 million new Medicaid/CHIP enrollees by 2016. The report updates recent data that found states had reached 45 percent of the projected 2016 enrollment as of the end of April.

The findings are based on data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and point to variation in progress from state to state. States expanding Medicaid reached 60 percent of the 2016 projected enrollment level, compared to 26 percent for states that have not expanded Medicaid. Within states that expanded the program, the report finds that states operating their own insurance marketplace were more successful in enrolling new Medicaid beneficiaries than states that relied on, or partnered with, the federal government to operate their exchange.

“Medicaid enrollment is still progressing. In just a month’s time, we’ve seen a sizeable increase in the number of people with Medicaid or CHIP coverage,” said Katherine Hempstead of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “As information about the program and eligibility requirements continues to be spread, and backlogs are reduced, we’ll see enrollment come even closer to the goal of 12.8 million by 2016.”

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