More than 50 million Americans are enrolled Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans funded jointly by states, territories and the federal government and administered by the states. It's one of the largest health plans in the country. Federal law dictates certain parameters that all states must follow, but each state administers its Medicaid program differently, resulting in coverage variations.
Beginning in 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provided states with the authority to expand Medicaid eligibility to include individuals, mainly working adults without children whose incomes do not exceed 138 percent of the federal poverty level. States expanding coverage to this population are eligible for an enhanced federal medical assistance percentage that paid 93 percent of the cost of Medicaid services in 2019, then90 percent in 2020 and beyond — significantly higher than the FMAP for services offered to the "traditional," non-expansion Medicaid population, including children, the disabled, elderly people, and pregnant women.
Medicaid expansion under the ACA aligns with the Academy's principles of seeking to ensure health care coverage for all by increasing access to care and enabling family physicians to provide cost-efficient care.
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