The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act and decisions by 26 Democratic and Republican state elected officials to expand their Medicaid programs, 1.46 million hardworking Americans have applied for and been deemed eligible to enroll in quality, affordable health care.
Today, HHS released its first monthly report on Medicaid enrollment and enrollment in the Children’s Health Insurance Program – and it’s good news. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act and decisions by Democratic and Republican elected officials in 26 states to expand their Medicaid programs, 1.46 million hardworking Americans have applied for and been deemed eligible to enroll in quality, affordable health care.
More hardworking Americans will know the security of health care coverage in states that chose to expand Medicaid than those states that chose to recklessly and irresponsibly deny health coverage to millions of Americans. In fact, if every state expanded Medicaid coverage, over 5.4 million more Americans—and more than 1 million in Texas alone—would get health coverage. And today’s report showed that states that expanded Medicaid have seen over a 15 percent increase in applications for Medicaid and CHIP, compared to the average monthly enrollment in the three preceding months. While states that refused to expand Medicaid only saw a 4.1 percent increase in applications.
This spike in applications confirmed what we have always known: hardworking Americans need and want the security of affordable health coverage.
In recent weeks, President Obama and our team have worked to make the case for all states to expand Medicaid so more uninsured Americans can get covered. Right now, we know that 6 in 10 uninsured Americans will have access to coverage for $100 per month or less next year because of the health care law. But if every state followed the lead of Democratic and Republican leaders in in the 26 states that have expanded Medicaid then that number would rise to 8 in 10 Americans.
In the coming months, the President will not stop fighting to make sure we are doing everything we can to give hardworking Americans in every state access to the security of quality, affordable health care that they deserve. Today’s Medicaid enrollment report is an encouraging first sign of progress, but there is more work to do.
This afternoon, President Obama spoke about other ways Americans are benefitting from the Affordable Care Act. Watch his full remarks below.
