Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

Study Backs Kentucky Medicaid Expansion

The New York Times: WASHINGTON — Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky released a study Thursday predicting that his expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would generate a positive fiscal impact of nearly $1 billion for the state over the next seven years.

The findings from Mr. Beshear, a Democrat, countered a drumbeat of Republican warnings that extending the program to nearly 400,000 additional Kentuckians to date — far more than state officials had predicted — would eventually impose a heavy burden on state taxpayers. For every state that decides to expand Medicaid under the new law, the federal government will cover the full cost through 2016, but then gradually lower its share to 90 percent by 2020.

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