Medicaid Expansion
Since its inception, Medicaid benefits have been available only to certain categories of people: the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, and dependent children and their families. Income requirements in many states have varied between each of these categories, and each state’s requirements are different from every other state’s.
For example, in Georgia, pregnant women are eligible if they earn 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) or less. A child under age one is eligible up to 185% FPL; a child between one and five, up to 133% FPL; between six and nineteen, up to 100% FPL. Working parents are eligible up to 52% FPL, non-working parents…up to 29%. And so on. The Foundation for Health Coverage Education helpfully compiled matrices of all the options in every state here (pdf).
The Affordable Care Act does away with all the eligibility categories. Beginning in 2014, anyone with income under 133% FPL will be eligible for Medicaid. This is expected to expand coverage to 16 million people, assuming normal rates of participation—another 7 million who will be eligible are expected not to enroll. (See this report [pdf] from the Kaiser Family Foundation.) The following graphic from the Washington Post breaks down projected percentage increases in Medicaid enrollment by state:
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