Closing Medicaid coverage gap could widen hospital margins, report says

Becker's Healthcare November 5, 2021
Marissa Plescia

If the Build Back Better Act goes into effect, hospital margins in the 12 states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs will increase by an estimated $11.9 billion, according to a Nov. 4 report by USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy.

Through the Affordable Care Act, states can extend their Medicaid programs to adults under age 65 with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, but 12 states have not done so.

In those 12 states, people with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level are mostly ineligible for subsidized coverage. But the current draft of Democrats’ Build Back Better Act wants to fill the coverage gap.

Here are five things to know:

1. The...

Today's Sponsors

Today's Sponsor