The National Journal turned to Manatt's Deborah Bachrach, a partner in the firm's Healthcare Division, for insight into New Hampshire's plan to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
The National Journal reports that there are currently 25 states and the District of Columbia that have opted into Medicaid expansion, while 19 have opted out and six remain undecided. New Hampshire is one of the final six holdouts but is on the brink of expanding Medicaid to approximately 50,000 low-income residents. Earlier this month the state Senate passed New Hampshire's version of expansion and the House is expected to pass the bill in the coming weeks. The plan calls for putting all newly eligible adults into a premium assistance model similar to the approach in Arkansas, which will use federal funds to buy private insurance plans on the exchanges.
However, because the process for implementing the "private option" can be lengthy-with drafting the waiver and putting it up for public comment-the state will move forward with expanded coverage in the meantime, said Bachrach. Beginning July 1, newly eligible adults will begin receiving coverage through the existing Medicaid managed care plan and will later be transitioned onto the private market.
"This drives home that this is time sensitive; that state leadership wants to start coverage, bring in federal dollars, and have the federal matching rate," Bachrach said.
Read the article here.