High Medicaid Enrollment Worries State Lawmakers
More people are signing up for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act than expected.
The numbers have some lawmakers concerned that states will not be able to afford the enrollment surge when the federal government scales back its aid in two years.
In Kentucky, 2014 enrollments were more than double the number projected. With more than 300,000 newly eligible residents signing up, that's greater than what was initially predicted through 2021.
Kentucky state Sen. Chris McDaniel said it is creating "a monstrous hole that we have got to figure out how to plug, and we don't know how to do it."
Supporters of Medicaid expansion say states will eventually save money by doing away with some of their own services for the uninsured, such as mental and behavioral health programs.
